The United States Men's team was ranked 16th in the world according to FIFA. The USMNT was the second youngest squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The USMNT’s captain was Tyler Adams; a midfielder who plays for Leeds United football club in England. Tyler Adams was the youngest captain in the 2022 World Cup, according to the New York Post. The USMNTs star player was Christian Pulisic. He’s a forward and plays for Chelsea F.C. The USMNT’s goalie was Matt Turner. He’s 6’ 3”, from Park Ridge, N.J. He’s an American footballer, though plays for Arsenal F.C, which is based in England. With young stars like these, it seemed the U.S could make history, possibly, defy all odds, and win the World Cup.

     On November 21, the USMNT played Wales in the Group Stage; in Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Rayyan, Qatar. The US played well in the first half with a goal by Tim Weah, and Christian Pulisic got the assist in the 36th minute. The U.S started to tire in the second half, and in the 82nd minute the U.S got penalized in their box. Gareth Bale shot the penalty kick in the top right corner. Matt Turner anticipated correctly, though the force of Bale’s kick was too powerful and went in the goal tying the game up 1-1. Due to Gareth Bale’s successful penalty kick, the game resulted in a 1-1 tie.

     On November 25, the USMNT was up Against England. England was ranked No.5 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, according to FIFA. The USMNT were the underdogs, unlike their match against Wales. The game took place at Al Bayt Stadium, in Al Khor, Qatar. Both teams fought with all they had, though neither team was able to score a goal on each other. The U.S had more shots than England, though England had more shots on target. Neither team got fouls either, though England did get one offside penalty. The game ended in a nil-nil tie.

     On November 29, the USMNT went up against Iran. Whoever won would advance to round of 16. Whoever lost would be eliminated from the World Cup. Fortunately for the U.S, they were favored to win as the U.S was ranked higher in the World Cup according to FIFA. The game was very physical, both teams getting penalized. Both teams had yellow cards. The U.S had a tremendous performance against Iran; outplaying Iran. Weston McKennie passed long for Sergio Dest, Dest headered it to Christian Pulisic, Pulisic was able to get the ball, and get it into the back of the net, scoring in the 38th minute. Christian Pulisic definitely ‘took one for the team’ as he suffered a pelvic contusion after colliding into the opposing goalkeeper. The U.S managed to pull off the win, 1- nil.

     On December 3rd the U.S played the Netherlands. The game was hosted at Khalifa International Stadium, in Doha, Qatar. Christian Pulisic got cleared for the game against the Netherlands after suffering a pelvic contusion during their win against Iran. Christian Pulisic had an opportunity to score early in the game, though the Netherlands goalkeeper: Andries Noppert, got to the ball before Pulisic could shoot. The Netherlands outplayed the U.S throughout the entire game. With Memphis Depay scoring a goal in the 10th minute of the game. In the 46th minute, Daley Blind scored a goal. The Netherlands had the momentum, though the U.S could still have won, they just couldn’t let the Netherlands score again. The U.S had a corner kick, then Haji Wright juggled the ball into the net, and got the first goal for the U.S. The U.S just needed one more goal to tie it up. Unfortunately for the U.S, Denzel Dumbfries scored the goal that closed the door on the U.S’s chance of winning. The game ended 3-1 Netherlands. The USMNT got eliminated from the World Cup.

     At a World Cup Conference before the match against Iran, an Iranian reporter called USMNT captain Tyler Adams out for mispronunciation of Iran, and asked “ Are you okay to be representing a country that has so much discrimination against black people in it’s own borders; and we saw the black lives movement over the past few years.” Adams responded with “ My apologies on the mispronunciation of your country. Ya that being said, you know there’s discrimination everywhere you go. One thing that I’ve learned, especially from living abroad in the past years, and having to fit in in different cultures is that in the U.S we’re continuing to make progress every single day. I grew up in a white family with an obviously African-American heritage and background as well, so I had a little bit of different cultures, and I was a very easily able to assimilate in different cultures, so I’m you know, not everyone has that ease and the ability to do that and obviously it takes the longest to understand and through education I think it’s super important. Like you just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a process, as long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.” The young captain is being praised for handling the criticism so well. Fans were stunned by Adams' stunning response to that question. Click here to see the whole interview.

     Overall the USMNT had a decent season with six wins, four losses, six draws, and twenty one goals. Christian Pulisic scored 22 goals, the most of any player on the USMNT this season. After the loss against the Netherlands, in an interview Matt Turner said “ Maybe the emotion of the game got to us, and we all kind of went to a little bit of a shell.” Football, like any other sport, it’s important to keep disciplined and not panic in hard times. The U.S did well with that, though eventually, the pressure got to them, and you’ll start to get anxious. The USMNT has never made it to a World Cup final, though they can try again in 2026.