The U.S. men’s national team made its long-awaited return to the World Cup stage on Monday, letting a potential win slip away due to a contribution from Wales’s danger man.
Tim Weah’s 36th-minute goal had the U.S. leading Wales in the Americans’ first World Cup match in eight years, only for Gareth Bale to score on an 82nd-minute penalty that pulled Wales level and salvaged a draw for the Dragons. With England beating Iran 6–2 earlier in the day, both sides trail the Three Lions in Group B after one match.
The U.S. infamously missed out on the 2018 World Cup by failing to qualify and spent the last four years rebuilding the program and centering the national team on a nucleus of young players, many of whom are playing in the top leagues in Europe. But if eight years between World Cups seems like a while for the U.S., consider Wales, which last reached the World Cup in 1958. For some, that 64-year wait was an eternity, but in Bale, the Dragons have one of the most accomplished and clutch players in the competition, and he came through after being fouled by Walker Zimmerman.
