Today was the second day of games in Group B of the World Cup. This round saw Iran beat Wales 2-0 and the United States draw with England. Initially the United States looked like they would be in trouble after drawing with a pretty average team in Wales, and then that team subsequently getting beaten relatively handedly against Iran. However, their game earlier today against England gave me a bit of hope that the US men’s national team might have a shot this year. Especially considering that I assumed that England would absolutely crush the US in this game.
To me this game showed that the United States can keep a game close. The ability to keep a game close can be invaluable in tournament play as it will always give you a chance to beat teams even if they are better than you. However, as the past two games have shown it more often leads to draws even against weaker teams like Wales. So while I have been impressed with the United States for their defense and competitiveness, they will need to actually convert their tenacity into points in order to beat Iran and especially the tougher teams in this tournament.
Overall, even though I have a more positive outlook for the US men’s team there are still questions about how far they can really go and if they can even get past a tougher than expected Iranian team to make the Round of 16. England may also have some cause for concern after a somewhat lackluster performance against the US today and their supporters have to wonder if they will be more consistent going forward or not. Considering that England is more or less a mathematic lock to make it to the next round of competition and the other representative of Group B basically coming down to the outcome of the game between the US and Iran, the only question that the Wales team has to answer is when do they want to leave to go home.
Bnq Show 