"It's a great feeling," Tim Weah said. "It's a dream come true." There was, though, a noticeable lack of enthusiasm as Weah said the words. He didn't seem like a player that had just scored a goal in his first World Cup game. They didn't sound like the words of a player that had, in fact, had a dream come true.
And that's because, in the dream scenario, Weah's goal was a winner, the goal that helped the U.S. push on towards the knockout stages and closer to World Cup glory.
It wasn't. So it's easy to understand why Weah and the USMNT's dream night felt so sour. "Disappointing". "Frustrating". Those were the words most commonly uttered by Weah and his team-mates after the game.
The dream wasn't a nightmare, not even close, despite the power of those above words. The USMNT will be somewhat happy with the point it earned from Monday's 1-1 draw with Wales. In fact, if you'd given them the scenario prior to the game, I'm sure some would have taken it.
But it was just one of those games, the one that feels like two points lost and not one earned. It's one of those games where a young team showed that it can be brash and brave, but maybe not as savvy as it needs to be to win games in this kind of competition.
The squad was confident yes, but a bit naïve. And, in World Cups, the bad often cancels out the good. One moment did them in, but it was their inability to create another one of their own that also proved their true undoing.
In their World Cup opener, there was plenty of good for the young USMNT. The U.S. were, to put it simply, dominant. In the first 45, Wales could barely get a touch in. Gareth Bale was locked in a USMNT prison, while Weah ran free to score his dream goal.
There was no adjustment phase or shaky start. Just pure energy from the opening whistle and an electric 45-minute performance that was better than anyone could have expected. It culminated with Weah's goal, a smooth sequence featuring himself and Christian Pulisic that headlined a near-perfect first half.
"There were no overwhelming moments," said defender Tim Ream, who was spectacular in his return to the national team. "There were no nerves, no anxiety."
But, coming out in the second half, the U.S. couldn't keep up. Wales brought on Kieffer Moore, their battering ram of a striker, and the U.S. never found an answer.
There were two answers to be found. The first would have been to get another goal, the one that sealed the game and ended any hopes of a Wales comeback. It never came, nor did any meaningful chance. The Stars and Stripes let Wales hang around and hang around until the Red Wall behind the goal's belief rose to the sky. The USMNT had done the hard part in getting the first goal, but even as Wales opened up, that one big counter never came.
The second answer? To play totally mistake-free soccer, to defend and protect a lead and grind out an ugly win. That's the more difficult of the two, especially against a team with Bale on the other side. It didn't happen either, as Walker Zimmerman made one quick, bad mistake that handed Wales the lifeline, and the point, it needed.
Getty ImagesAs Wales went more direct, the U.S. lost the energy that made the first half so good. Players lost second balls that they weren't losing in the first half. They were a step slower, a step behind.
Those types of things will happen in international soccer, especially for teams dealing with fitness issues in this odd winter World Cup. Even the best teams in Qatar will have times when they have to bite down, suffer, push through and adjust. You simply have to survive those lulls and not allow them to continue before reasserting control.
Gregg Berhalter's substitutes also came a bit too late. His first-half game plan was proactive, but his adjustments to Wales' changes weren't. He let them build momentum and, eventually, it all came together in the box for one bad foul.
"We gave them a lifeline," said goalkeeper Matt Turner, who was only inches away from stopping Bale's penalty and rendering all of this talk moot. "We dropped two points."
"It's disappointing, but it's a learning experience," Ream added. "And I think something that all the guys will definitely learn from and improve on and change."
But what did we learn about the USMNT? We learned it has the fight for this sort of thing, that's for sure. We learned that it won't be overawed by the situation, the stage or the opponent. We learned that the young stars, in some ways, are ready for this moment.
We also learned that, perhaps, this team still has a lot of growing up to do when it comes to games of this level. It remains green, naive, and inexperienced in the ways to see these sorts of games out. In a World Cup, you can't let teams hang around and build up hope. You can be as proactive and dominant as you want but, sometimes, you simply have to find a way to put a more experienced team away before it does the same to you.
It was a good time to learn this lesson. It came before it was too late, but it came for a young team that is learning not just for 2022, but for 2026.
Up next is a bigger challenge against England, who sent six past Iran in the World Cup's first big blowout. And then comes that final game against Iran, one that will likely be a must-win for the U.S.
There will probably come another moment in this tournament when the U.S. needs to show what it has learned. It may need to master the dark arts, slow a game down, push through, survive, get the goal that takes the scoreline to a safer place.
Maybe, though, what the USMNT learned will be enough for it to look back on this night as a lesson, not as the night where its World Cup hopes were tossed away.
"It's time for us to bounce back," Weah said. "We'll pick ourselves up for the next game and come with a different energy and a different vibe."