DOHA, Qatar — “Captain America” began his dart away from unbearable pressure into the Promised Land at 10:37 p.m., from out of Iran’s view and toward the World Cup knockout rounds. He burst through deafening Iranian noise, away from the specter of elimination and into the penalty box. And here, on the biggest stage of all, a split-second before clattering into a goalkeeper, Christian Pulisic arrived.
He simultaneously shaped his foot and flung his body into harm’s way, and scored an elusive goal that gave the U.S. men’s national team a 1-0 victory over Iran on Tuesday.