One for the team

Alrighty then, Netherlands. Bring your Hans Brinker asses over here and get you some.

We're feeling feisty, we Americans, because Our Boys beat Iran yesterday 1-0, and you should have seen how they did it. With guts. With style. With the most supreme of sacrifices.

Which is to say, Christian Pulisic scored in the 38th minute, splitting two defenders in the box to side-kick a header cross past the Iranian keeper. 

After which he crashed into said keeper, um, ballsack-first.

He left the game with what was called a pelvic contusion, the official medical term for getting kneed in the twigs and berries. It doesn't get much more sacrificial than that, boys and girls. Pulisic not only took one for the team, he took two for the team, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, after that the U.S. side played to protect the lead, which of course led to a number of narrow escapes in the last 20 minutes or so. The Blob does not understand this strategy, but the Blob makes no claim to any advanced knowledge of soccer/futbol. Perhaps this was USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter doing the prudent thing, the logical thing, the advanced-knowledge thing.

In any event, he made the right moves again, and now it's on to the round of 16 match with the Dutch on Saturday. The Blob lost track of Clockwork Orange about the time the late Johan Cruyff retired, and now Robin Van Persie and Arjan Robben have hung it up, too. So I got nothin' on the Hans Brinkers. 

But as far as I know, none of them took a nutshot to advance his team to the knockout rounds, so the U.S. has that going for it. Latest word from Pulisic is he says he'll be ready on Saturday, don't you doubt it.

Wouldn't wanna be you, Netherlands.