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The U.S. men know exactly what they have to do against Iran on Tuesday to advance to the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
Win.
The question is how. Iran coach Carlos Queiroz called the Americans “the most consistent” team in Group B, and “probably even the team that made the best two performances in the tournament in our group.” It’s a nice compliment, but it hasn’t gotten the USMNT much.
CLINCHING SCENARIOS:How can the USMNT advance at 2022 World Cup?
So how does the USMNT get the three points it will take to reach the round of 16? Here are three keys.
Sounds simple, I know. But the Americans had multiple chances to score in each of the first two games and have all of one goal.
Had Josh Sargent connected against Wales early, the USMNT would be in a far more secure position. Had the shot Weston McKennie skied against England or the one Christian Pulisic banged off the crossbar been a few feet lower, the Americans could get through with a draw and maybe even a loss.
“It’s hard to come by goals. And that’s what we’ve found,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said Monday. “For us, it’s about how do we put our players in position to create chances and get on the end of chances. We’ve been defending really well and that keeps you in the game.
“We know in this game, we’re going to need to score a goal, that’s going to have to happen. So we stay calm, we have a plan and we go out and try to execute that plan.
