MY ACCOUNT
Gareth Bale rescued Wales as his late penalty earned them a 1-1 draw with the USA at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Timothy Weah opened the scoring for the US when he poked the ball past Welsh keeper Wayne Hennessey after Christian Pulisic had slipped the winger in.
The goal had been coming for Gregg Berhalter’s side, who came close twice when Joe Rodon’s header towards his own goal was saved by Hennessey and Josh Sargent’s effort struck the near post.
It looked like they were set for three big Group B points until Bale was clearly brought down inside the box and duly dispatched the penalty with confidence in the 82nd minute.
We look at five key talking points from the match in Qatar.
Wales’ nerves
Wales got off to a slow start and failed to register a single shot on target in the first half.
The Dragons struggled to string passes together as the USA’s high press forced them into errors on which the likes of Weah and Pulisic looked to capitalise.
It almost culminated in an early opening goal had it not been for the positioning of Hennessey to deny Rodon’s headed clearance.
However, they managed to get a foothold in the game at half-time with the introduction of Kieffer Moore.
The kids are alright
The USA were the youngest squad to qualify for the World Cup finals — and showed their bright future with a fine display.
The midfield three of Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Yunus Musah — all under 24 years old — controlled the tempo of the match throughout the opening 45 minutes.
They overwhelmed the Wales midfield with relentless pressing and started the attacks by picking out their wingers to threaten the box.
In the end, it was another youngster in Weah, 22, who got the USA’s World Cup scoring underway as he capped off a darting run behind the Wales backline with a composed finish.
Moore breathes life into Wales
Wales boss Robert Page took the early decision to bring Moore on in place of Daniel James at half time — and it was a move that proved pivotal.
The 30-year-old striker won his aerial battles, held the ball up for the Dragons’ attackers and linked play to push them further up the pitch.
He was influential in the second half turnaround for Wales, who were eventually rewarded with a penalty in the 82nd minute.
Moore’s performance will certainly give Page food for thought as he looks ahead to Iran on Friday.
Wales Baled out
Wales captain Bale once again proved his quality with a game-changing moment.
The 33-year-old did well to draw the foul from Walker Zimmerman and there was no doubting that he would score the penalty which was awarded.
When speaking to ITV after the match he spoke of the team performance Wales showed in the second half.
He said: “It’s an amazing feeling to get off the mark personally, but we would much rather have had the three points.
“It was a great team performance, especially in the second half when we showed that real grit and determination to get back into the game.
“We are proud of that. We have things to build on and things to work on.”
Point for Page
Wales boss Page will have been disappointed with his side’s first half performance.
But he will be mightily pleased that they were able to fight back for a late point and more importantly avoid defeat in their World Cup finals opener.
Following the game, he spoke to ITV and spoke of his sides determination to stay in the game.
He said: “To go a goal behind against a good team like the USA, we showed character, credit to the lads for coming back and getting a point.
“When we got the penalty we knew who was taking it, one million percent. He’s never let us down has he? It’s all about Bale and rightly so.
“Before Friday when we play Iran the medical team will have work to do. We have players not playing week in, week out, they are cramping up.
“It was 64-years but worth the wait. To see the red wall celebrating was incredible.”
