DOHA, Qatar — Tyler Adams sank to his knees, and Yunus Musah collapsed onto his butt, then rolled onto his back. Tim Ream roared with every last ounce of energy he had, then keeled over. They and a dozen teammates had all just “suffered,” as Adams and Musah said, for 107 minutes at the Al Thumama Stadium on Tuesday night. Some had run more than 21 miles over three World Cup games. They crumbled to Qatari grass because the final whistle on their 1-0 win over Iran had been “such a relief,” Musah said. Whereas they’d energized a nation and impressed the world in their first two games, this had been excruciating.
The surprising strength that makes the USMNT a legit World Cup semifinal threat
