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After the opening match between Ecuador and Qatar on Sunday, the 2022 World Cup began in earnest on Monday as there were three matches throughout the day: England vs. Iran, Netherlands vs. Senegal, and the United States vs. Wales.
Those three games, as it turns out, featured quite the statistical anomalies, as the four single halves with the most stoppage time on record (since 1966) in a single World Cup match all happened today, according to Opta Joe.
4 – The four single halves with the most stoppage time on record (since 1966) in a single #WorldCup match have all been today:#ENGIRN 1st half (14:08)#ENGIRN 2nd half (13:08)#USAWAL 2nd half (10:34)#SENNED 2nd half (10:03)
Prolonged.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 21, 2022
In the England match, the Three Lions trounced Iran by a final score of 6-2. In the Netherlands-Senegal match, the Dutch were able to secure a 2-0 victory. As for the United States Men’s National Team, they played to a disappointing 1-1 draw against Gareth Bale and Wales in their opening match. Tim Weah of Lille scored the opening goal for the U.S. in the first half while former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale tied the game with a penalty kick with about 10 minutes to play.
While the USMNT’s result against Wales is far from ideal, it also isn’t catastrophic. Heading into Friday’s match against England, the United States needs to be in the mindset of getting at least a point from the match, otherwise, their prospects of advancing to the knockout stages will be quite precarious.
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