- The USMNT is through to the Round of 16 at the World Cup after defeating Iran 1-0 Tuesday.
- During the victory, however, the team suffered a number of injuries to key players.
The United States men's national team is through to the knockout rounds of a World Cup for the first time in eight years, but a number of injuries to key players put a dampener on an otherwise memorable night in Qatar.
Gregg Berhalter's side beat Iran 1-0 in its final group stage game at Al Thumama Stadium, on Tuesday night, with Christian Pulisic scoring the game's only goal in the 38th minute.
The win ensured the USMNT finished second in the Group B behind England, setting up a match against the Netherlands in the Round of 16 on Saturday at 10 a.m. ET.
Pulisic, however, who has been involved in the Americans' only two goals of the tournament so far — he had an assist on Timothy Weah's score in the opening match draw with Wales — will be a doubt for the game.
The Chelsea FC forward found himself on the end of a hefty knee to the abdomen from Iran's goalkeeper as he bundled the ball over the line.
—FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 29, 2022
Though he briefly played on, he was taken out at halftime by Berhalter.
Then, in the second half, striker Josh Sargent, another US star at the tournament so far, suffered an apparent injury to his ankle after stepping on the ball. Like Pulisic, he was subbed out.
—FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 29, 2022
"It was an awkward one, really really painful," said the former England midfielder turned BBC pundit Danny Murphy of Sargent's injury.
FOX reported after the match that Pulisic had been transported to a hospital to be treated for abdominal injury, but there were no further updates on his status, or his potential to play against the Dutch come Saturday.
For the Americans, it means that while they did well to escape the group stage of the tournament, there could be bigger challenges facing them as they go up against a stronger side potentially short-handed.
Still, the Americans were undeterred after the match, sure that every man on the team was ready to put their body on the line like Pulisic did for the win.
"We're a really close group of guys," Weston McKennie said after the match. "We're brothers."
"Obviously we're very thankful that he threw his body there, but we have 25 other guys outside of Christian, who would do the same thing. We know what our goal is. We know what want to do. We know what we want to accomplish. And everybody is ready to give everything."