Christian Pulisic picked up an abdominal injury after scoring the winner to send the USA to round 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
USA battled Iran in tense game that saw both teams facing almost equal risk of elimination from the competition.
USA were the better side through out and fought off the Iranians from all angles of the game. They dominated possession and also had more shots on target than the Iranians.
However, they had to wait till the 38th minute of play to humble the Iranians and nearly got a second goal a few minutes into the end of the first half.
Pulisic’s strike was what the USA needed to defeat Iran and set up a round of 16 clash with Netherlands.
Christian Pulisic speedily sprint pass Iranain defenders to volley home and brilliant header by Sergino Dest.
The team and the fans wheeled into a riotous celebration as they needed a win to make it to the next round of the competition.
Sadly, after putting the USMNT in front, Christian Pulisic stayed down for several minutes, and could not celebrate his first ever World Cup goal.
The Chelsea star sustained a pelvic contusion after a point-blank collision with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand after the goal.
He also appeared to hurt his leg and his torso as he flew into Beiranvand at full pace and his face and neck also hit Beiranvand’s chest.
His US teammates stood around him until he could be treated by a medic and there were real concerns he would not be able to play on in such an important game.
Eventually, the Chelsea attacker and USMNT’s star man made it back onto the field and wasn’t running freely but appeared to have shrugged off the impact of the collision.
There was five minutes of time added on at the end of the first period, almost all down to Pulisic’s treatment.
Gregg Berhalter substituted him in the second half and subbed on Brendan Aaronson in his place.
Christian Pulisic had to be taken to the hospital after the incident. To allay the fears of the fans about the severity of his condition following the incident, Pulisic shared a Snapchat picture of himself in the hospital bed with the caption, “So f***ing proud of my guys I’ll be ready Saturday don’t worry.”
While Pulisic remains optimistic of an early return to the team and feature against the Dutch in the round of 16, the US Soccer have confirmed that he already link back to the the team at the hotel by the time they returned from the stadium.
Meanwhile, Gregg Berhalter, in a post-match press conference, was full of praises for the Chelsea star, described as the most hardworking and talented member of the squad.
The USA will now battle the Netherlands in the round of 16 of the tournament – in what will be a mouth-watery clash between the European giant and the Americans.
