The U.S. Men’s National Team came away with a draw in their first game of the 2022 World Cup on Monday, and many are pointing the finger at Walker Zimmerman for the disappointing outcome.
USA had a 1-0 lead over Wales in 80th minute when the defender committed a foul in the box. Zimmerman took Wales captain Gareth Bale to the ground with a hard challenge and did not get nearly enough of the ball.
The foul gave Bale a penalty kick, which he buried to even the match at 1-1.
Many pointed out that the foul was particularly bad since Bale had his back to the goal and was not in position to get a shot off. Twitter was not kind to Zimmerman:
The draw felt like a win for Wales and a loss for Team USA, who dominated the entire first half. Teams that win their opening match of the World Cup almost always advance past the group stage, so the U.S. now has much more difficult task. The Americans will face England on Friday in what will likely be their toughest challenge of group play.
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