In the course of human events, the United States has pulled off the two-biggest upsets against England.
There was the 1950 soccer match in the World Cup, during which a team of part-time players (five from St. Louis) defeated her majesty’s football kings, 1-0.
And, of course, there was that one war.
On Friday, the United States faces England in the World Cup, a match of even grander importance since the U.S. couldn’t even get by Wales. Monday’s tie — in a game the U.S. led and dominated in the first half — puts the onus on us (well, the U.S.).
And while Monday’s tie was deemed as underachieving, a tie Friday would be a remarkable American achievement.
A win and they’d party on The Hill like it was 1950, but a tie would give America an elusive, unexpected point.
As the World Cup setup goes, the four teams in each group face each other once. And then, two of the four teams advance from each group. You get three points for a win, one for a tie. The U.S. group also features England, Wales and Iran. Mighty England, which beat Iran, 6-2, will likely advance.
So, a win against Wales would’ve bolstered the U.S. with three points. Instead, with the one point, America is in the same spot as Wales.
That’s why a point Friday would be so uplifting. America would have two points (from the two ties), heading into its match Tuesday with Iran. According to ESPN Stats & Info, no team has earned five points and failed to advance in the current World Cup format of a four-team group stage.
Having only four points could be harrowing.
OK. Can the U.S. tie England? If you asked me at halftime Monday, I surely would’ve said “sure.” But that second half exposed America, weakened America. The confident offense-creating from the first half gave way to rattled play. America just didn’t respond well. America got out-maneuvered.
Two of the optimistic performances came from two St. Louisans who started. It’s pretty amazing that in a country of more than 333 million people, two of the eleven starters on the national soccer team attended St. Dominic High School of O'Fallon, Missouri. Then again, we in St. Louis shouldn’t be surprised. The history of U.S. soccer is, really, the history of St. Louis soccer. It didn’t even start with the five fellows on the 1950 team — decades prior, the nation’s soccer capital had the nation’s first soccer league.
The striker Josh Sargent, 22, provides the red for the red-white-and-blue. His early header hit the post against Wales. He made numerous quality touches and also altered Wales’ strategy by dropping deeper into the midfield. And his greatest contribution came in a matter of milliseconds. In the 36th minute, the redhead controlled a bouncing ball with his chest, while drawing a Welsh defender to move up on the play. Sargent’s ball landed on the feet of Christian Pulisic, who was immediately ignited.
The space created by Sargent’s defender allowed Pulisic to penetrate the defense, and he ultimately played the beautiful pass to Tim Weah for an assist. And so, our town’s guy got the hockey assist.
The other St. Louis starter was Tim Ream, 35, who started and starred at center back. He just seemed to make the right decision every time. He was aggressive but controlled. His touches were smart. His hustle was undeniable. He was the oldest American player on the pitch, but it seemed he was fueled by experience, rather than potentially slowed by age.
“To limit (Wales) as much as we did,” Ream told ESPN in Qatar, “and still come away with only a point is, yeah, listen, it's disappointing."
England is fifth in FIFA’s international rankings, trailing France, Argentina, Belgium and No. 1 Brazil. The U.S. is 16th, Wales in 19th and Iran is 20th.
And in the English victory against Iran, onlookers experienced a passing display of dominance.
This stat from ESPN is absurd. In Monday’s win, England attempted 797 passes and 753 carries. In the past 2 1/2 seasons in the Premier League, only once did a team tally 750 or more passes and carries in the same game. One team in one game. And here was a national team doing it in the World Cup.
The pressure on U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter is intense. Can he figure out a way to control possession at times against these guys? Will he insert the sensational Gio Reyna into play, unlike the Wales game, after which the coach cited Reyna’s muscle injury? And, frankly, how do you knock off a world power?
Well, history tells you it can be done. The 1950 soccer win is part of St. Louis sports lore, even though it was a national team accomplishment.
And on Friday, two St. Louisans will have their hand in trying to repeat history (well, really everything except their hands).
