Bale Salvages 1-1 Draw for Wales Against US in World Cup
November 21, 2022 11:19 AM update November 21, 2022 5:55 PM
Wales' Gareth Bale reacts after a challenge during the World Cup, group B soccer match between the United States and Wales, at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 21, 2022.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar —
Gareth Bale converted a penalty kick in the 82nd minute to offset Tim Weah's first-half goal and give Wales a 1-1 draw Monday in the return to the World Cup for both nations.
Weah, a son of former FIFA Player of the Year and current Liberian President George Weah, scored after a pass from Christian Pulisic in the 36th minute.
Back in the World Cup after missing the 2018 tournament, the United States appeared headed to victory. But Walker Zimmerman plowed down Bale from behind with the Welsh star's back to the goal, and referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim of host Qatar pointed to the penalty spot.
Bale put his kick to the left of goalkeeper Matt Turner's outstretched arm for his 41st goal in 109 international appearances, salvaging a point for Wales in its first World Cup match since 1958.
Next up for the United States is a high-profile matchup against England on Friday, the same day Wales faces Iran.
Tim Weah, just 22, was part of a new-look American team that is the second youngest in the tournament.
Pulisic, the top American player and one of the few holdovers from the 2017 qualifying failure, burst up the middle of the field in a move that led to the goal. Weah timed his run perfectly as Pulisic passed ahead, breaking in ahead of Neco Williams.
From near the penalty area, Weah used the side of his right foot to poke the ball over the left thigh of sliding goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey for his fourth goal in 26 international appearances.
Three Americans picked up yellow cards for rough tackles and would be suspended if assessed another: Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie and Tim Ream.
England 6, Iran 2
Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford put last year's European Championship loss behind them, combining to score three goals in England's 6-2 rout of Iran on Monday at the World Cup.
Both players missed penalties in the shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final and were then subjected to racist abuse. A year later, Saka scored twice at Khalifa International Stadium and Rashford came off the bench to add another with his first move of the match.
England's Bukayo Saka, center, celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal during the World Cup group B soccer match between England and Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Nov. 21, 2022.
Hundreds of fans missed the start of the match because of an issue with digital tickets. When they eventually made their way to their seats, they witnessed an utterly dominant display from England.
Jude Bellingham scored the first goal in the 35th minute — his first international goal.
Saka then got his first of the match in the 43rd and Raheem Sterling added another in first-half stoppage time. Saka scored his second shortly after the hour, but Mehdi Taremi pulled one back for Iran in the 65th minute.
Rashford struck six minutes later to extend England's lead to 5-1, and Jack Grealish also stepped off the bench to add a sixth in the 90th. Taremi added another for Iran from the penalty spot deep in injury time after John Stones was penalized for holding Morteza Pouraliganji's shirt in the box.
Iran's Alireza Beiranvand is carried away on a stretcher after sustaining an injury in the match against England in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Khalifa International Stadium, Nov. 21, 2022.
The game was delayed for several minutes in the first half when Iran goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand clashed heads with a teammate. He was eventually taken off the field on a stretcher with the score still 0-0.
His replacement, Hossein Hosseini, was left with the unenviable task of facing England's potent attack.
The match had a total of 29 minutes of injury time, 15 minutes in the first half and 14 in the second.
Netherlands 2, Senegal 0
Later on Monday, Cody Gakpo and substitute Davy Klaasen scored late to give the Netherlands a 2-0 victory over Senegal.
Gakpo rose to glance in a cross by Frenkie de Jong in the 84th minute with the Dutch team's first effort on target in the Group A game at Al Thumama Stadium. Klaasen added a second right at the end of eight minutes of stoppage time by slotting in after Edouard Mendy only weakly blocked a shot from Memphis Depay.
Netherlands' Cody Gakpo celebrates scoring their first goal against Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Khalifa International Stadium, Nov. 21, 2022.
The orange-shirted Dutch fans had been subdued until the late strikes as the Senegalese drums and chants were the dominant sound from the stands for much of the game. But Senegal's main problem was predictable: Without injured forward Sadio Mane, it couldn't convert any of its chances.
That was also down to Netherlands goalkeeper Andries Noppert, who made three strong saves to deny the Senegalese in his first game for the national team.
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