World Cup Round-up: USA, England Advance But Ecuador Eliminated

Ecuador faced off against Senegal, host Qatar took on the Netherlands, and Wales and England renewed their UK rivalry. However, the marquee match of the night was the highly-politicized match between USA and Iran.

England and Wales are both parts of the United Kingdom. For the World Cup, however, they came in as rivals seeking to find out who is the best in their country. However, in the end, it was another English win as Wales continued its slide. The final score is 3-0.

Meanwhile, host Qatar, which has already been eliminated after two straight losses against Ecuador and Senegal, failed to even score a goal against the mighty Dutch side. The Netherlands played very aggressively but only managed to convert two goals. That was enough as the final score was 2-0.

Both England and the Netherlands advance to the Round of 16 at the top of their respective groups.

USA Survives Iran, Advances to Round of 16, but Christian Pulisic Suffers Scary Injury

The match had some very high stakes, not just on the field, but out of it as well. The USMNT had a record of no wins, 2 draws, and no loss, while Iran had a win and a loss coming into the match, With England advancing to top their group, the winner gets to advance to the Round of 16.

Not only that but the recent tensions between the United States and Iran as USA's soccer federation decided to show solidarity with Iranian protesters by taking off Iran's emblem from its flag, causing the country to petition FIFA to ban the United States.

Iran was seen to have more experience coming into the match, with the United States having better talent. In the end, Captain America himself, Christian Pulisic, managed to score the winning goal before halftime, placing the Americans up 1-0.

However, right after that winning goal, Pulisic collided with Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand. This happened around the 38-minute mark when the USA captain hurtled toward the Iranian goalkeeper right after scoring the goal.

The incident was a scary moment for the USMNT as Pulisic went down on the ground and was unable to celebrate his first goal of the World Cup. His stomach and groin appeared to have collided with Beiranvand's left knee and shin according to Yahoo! Sports. Pulisic limped toward halftime and was substituted.

The final score was 1-0 as the United States advanced and will be facing off against Netherlands next in the Round of 16.

Senegal Dashes Ecuador's Hopes

Ecuador started the World Cup on a high note with a one-sided beating of Qatar and a tie against group favorites the Netherlands. However, their hopes of advancing were dashed as the team suffered their first and only loss of the tournament against African champions Senegal.

The game was very close and was tied 2-2 until Kalidou Koulibaly sank a coldblooded goal that devastated their South American opponents' fans. BBC pointed out that all three of Senegal's goals came from players who are playing in the English Premier League.

Senegal now advances to the Round of 16 as they will be facing off against England next.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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