The last 10 minutes will be a big test for the young American team. Bale’s penalty has lifted his country’s fans to their feet and into song, and the United States looked — for a few brief moments — like the shock had affected them. But they’ve calmed things down, and Jordan Morris has come on for Weah, the goal-scorer, to stall a little. And that has settled the game.
One would expect both teams to be doing mental calculations of whether a draw suits them more than the risk of going for a win and getting it wrong.