The United States team has officially clinched the top spot in Group D after Paraguay’s victory over Turkey and became the second team to punch their ticket to the knockout stage. They have a chance to make some real noise on home soil. Here’s one thing I’m encouraged about and one thing that worries me.
The most encouraging aspect of the United States’ play has been its dominance in victory. In their first match of the tournament against Paraguay, they won 4-1. In the follow-up, they handled Australia 2-0.
The Australians are no slouches. In the previous tournament, they were knocked out in the Round of 16 by Argentina in a tightly contested 2-1 match. The most impressive part of their team has been the defense, which has allowed just one goal in two outings.
In addition to their dominance on the scoreboard, the United States has had the upper hand in major statistical categories. Against Paraguay, they had nine more shot attempts, won 63-37 in possession, and had 91% passing accuracy compared to Paraguay’s 85%.
In the second match against Australia, the Americans had three more shot attempts, won 63-37 possession again, and had 87% pass accuracy compared to 77%. They have been dominant in all aspects of the game, and the most impressive part is that they’ve done it without Christian Pulisic. Can they keep it up against better competition?
It’s impressive how well the United States has played without its star player, Pulisic. It shows how deep the team is, and they’re not solely reliant on one player. With that said, however, they need star power in the knockout stages.
The 27-year-old phenom has been dealing with a left calf injury. The injury took place late in the opening match against Paraguay.
That injury kept Pulisic sidelined for the second match. The injury itself is not severe, but soft tissue injuries are unpredictable. He could feel fine and re-aggravate it at any moment, so the team must be cautious.
It’s been a weird year for soft tissues in sports, and one league that has dealt with it the most is the NBA. Several star players, such as Aaron Gordon, Jalen Williams, and Luka Doncic, missed significant time due to hamstring and calf injuries. Gordon and Williams made multiple returns and reaggrevated it.
Knowing what happened to those players slightly concerns me about Pulisic.
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Despite the injury concern, this USMNT is a legit squad. They dominated their first two games and now have locked up the top spot in their group with one match to spare, which reinforces the same point: they can contend if the health breaks right.
If Pulisic can get some favorable injury luck, look out. The aspect that should not be overlooked is the home-field advantage.
For those who watched that U.S. match vs Australia, you know how loud that crowd was. There have been 22 World Cups. Host nations have won 6 out of 22 (27%) tournaments, a significant number.
Can the United States shock everyone and make a push for being the seventh? That will depend on whether their strong play and Pulisic’s health hold up.
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