Christian Pulisic flattened and hurt while scoring for USA against Iran in World Cup

Christian Pulisic was left hurt after a point-blank collision with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand as he scored the opening goal for USA in the must-win game against Iran.

He stayed down for a number of minutes after scoring from close range and was unable to celebrate his goal.

There was a lengthy stoppage for treatment and he was eventually helped off the field by two medics from the USMNT. 

Pulisic appeared to hurt his leg and his torso as he flew into Beiranvand at full pace having sprinted to get onto Sergino Dest’s pass across the Iran six-yard box. His face and neck also looked like it hit Beiranvand’s chest.

But eventually, the Chelsea attacker and USMNT’s star man made it back onto the field. He wasn’t running freely to begin with but gradually appeared to shake off the impact of the knock.

There was five minutes of time added on at the end of the first period, almost all down to Pulisic’s treatment. 

‘We talked about putting your body on the line and boy did he ever,’ FOX Soccer analyst Clint Dempsey said. 

‘You’ve got to sacrifice your body sometimes for the team and for your country. He wanted it more than the opposition and that’s what you’ve got to do.’

Pulisic sprinted to reach Sergino Dest’s ball across the six-yard area to convert it for the lead

Pulisic stayed down for treatment and he was unable to celebrate a huge goal for his team

The goal came in the 38th minute in the final Group B game in Qatar – a game the USA has to win to advance into the last-16 of the World Cup. It is Pulisic’s first at the tournament and first ever at the World Cup.

It had been a tense game up to then, although one where the USMNT had the better chances. Pulisic went near early on in the game but Iran had enjoyed a couple of forays forward too.

USA nearly had a second goal shortly before halftime – Timothy Weah had a goal ruled out for offside by the narrowest of margins. 

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