Many Americans were very excited about the 2022 World Cup. The United States has only participated in 11 World Cups since the first ever World Cup which was held in 1930. The United States has never won a World Cup and many fans hoped that 2022 would be the year where the close-nit young team would get a win. Sadly, however, this would not be the year that the United States would get that win.
The United States national team started the group stage by going up against Wales. We have only played Wales twice, never in the World Cup. In 2003 we beat them 2-0 and in 2020 we tied with them 0-0. In the first half of the game, the US played overall better scoring the first game of the game in the 32nd minute. In the second half of the game, however, Wales played better. Late in the second half, Wales was awarded a penalty kick after a fowl inside the box which they scored, tying up the game.
The second game the US played was against England who we have played twice in the World Cup over the years. We won 1-0 against them in the 1950 World Cup and tied 1-1 in the 2010 World Cup. Overall the game was fairly even, with only 4 combined shots on goal between the two teams. The game ended as a tie 0-0.
The last game the US played in the group stage (we were in group B) was against Iran, who we played once in the World cup and once in a friendly match. We lost to Iran in the 1998 World Cup 2-1, and we tied 0-0 in the friendly match in 2000. In this year’s match, the US scored in the 38th minute which secured the 1-0 win for the US. This game marked the end of the group stage and England and the US, of group B, moved on to the round of 16.
In this round, we went up against the Netherlands who we have played 5 times before. We lost to them 4 of the five times getting our first win over them in 2015, with a score of 4-3. This year, however, the US didn’t do as well. The Netherlands scored in the 10th minute then again right before the end of the first half. In the 76th minute, the US scored a goal off of a lucky deflection, however, just 5 minutes later the Netherlands scored once again securing their 3-1 win.
This meant that the US was out of the 2022 World Cup. It was disappointing for US fans, however, this showed great improvement in the US men’s team seeing as they didn’t make it into the world cup in 2018. Many fans are looking forward to the 2026 World Cup which is going to be hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. To see other countries’ rankings and scores for the 2022 World Cup you can check out the rankings here.