Iran win another step as U.S. soccer tries to boost interest

DOHA, QATAR >> American soccer hopes to be ascendant, to challenge the NFL, Major League Baseball and the NBA in the competition for U.S. market share.

Reaching the final 16 with Tuesday night’s 1-0 win over Iran was another step for a team whose success is measured in television viewers and buzz along with final scores.

“I don’t know the final numbers, but I’m sure there were a lot of people watching,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said. “You see how resilient this group is. You see how unified this group is. You see what type of energy and output they put into every single game. And then along the way, there’s some pretty good soccer. That’s the American spirit, the way this group plays, and I think people will appreciate that, especially back home.”

The Americans opened with a 1-1 draw with Wales that was seen by 11.7 million on Englishand Spanish-language U.S. broadcasts and followed with a 0-0 tie against England that was viewed by 19.98 million on Black Friday, when schools were off and many offices closed.

President Joe Biden took note of the victory over Iran when speaking in Bay City, Michigan.

“They did it! God love ‘em,” Biden said.

A victory on Saturday against the Netherlands would put the U.S. in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002. The status of Christian Pulisic is uncertain after he bruised his pelvis crashing into the goalkeeper while scoring against Iran. The