When it comes to the World Cup, the United States never seems to perform well, either they don’t qualify at all, or never make it out of the group stages. This year was different, with a brand-new, young team coming into the 2022 Qatar World Cup, their performance was something to be proud of.  

The United States Men’s Soccer Team started off the tournament with a game against Whales. The United States dominated the first half and got a beautiful goal by forward Timothy Weah.  

According to msn.com, “After a spectacular run and pass from star forward Christian Pulisic, Weah did the rest, sending the ball off the outside of his right foot and into the back of the net.” After Weah’s goal, Whales got a late penalty and ended the game with a tie of 1-1.  

The United States’ game after the game against Whales would potentially be their biggest game of the World Cup, a Black Friday game against England. England is one of the toughest opponents in the entire tournament and has a previous World Cup win, so this game was going to be tough for the young United States players. Luckily, the team of youngsters tied England 0-0, keeping them in the tournament.  

America’s third game against Iran had tension before the game even started. Some even said that this game was more than soccer. United States’ history with Iran, and their current relationship, politically made tensions high enough, but to make matters worse, if the United States lost, they are out of the tournament. Luckily, Americas’s star player Christian Pulisic scored a game winning goal in the first half.  

According to msn.com, “He simultaneously shaped his foot and flung his body to harm’s way and scored an elusive goal that gave the U.S. men’s national team a 1-0 victory over Iran.”  

This win against Iran sent the United States into the knockout stages for the first time in years. Sadly, their tournament ended against Netherlands in their fourth match of the World Cup.  

Even with the loss against Netherlands, the United States played an excellent tournament, scoring two great goals and made the whole country excited and ready for the 2026 World Cup.