12 years ago, with two ties to their name, the US knew that a win and a win only would advance them in the World Cup. That win, on a magical last-minute goal by Landon Donovan, will forever stand as one of the greatest moments in US soccer history.

Today, with two ties to their name, the US knew that a win and a win only would advance them in the World Cup. There were no last-minute heroics this time, as US dearly held on to a 1:0 lead through minute after minute of Iranian desperation.

That lead came courtesy of a 38th minute goal by Christian Pulisic, who timed his run perfectly to get on the end of a header by Serginho Dest, crashing into the net. Just like against Wales, the US completely dominated the first half, and had a second wiped off the scoreboard on a very close offside call.

Just like against Wales, the second half was different. Led by ex-Metro coach Carlos Queiroz, Iran knew that a single goal would send them forward, and once Gregg Berhalter put on a fifth defender (still no Aaron Long, but we got over it), it was obvious what the game plan was. Tyler Adams was everywhere, getting to every ball possible, but he alone could not put out every fire. So, when eight minutes into injury time, with an American hand on the shoulder of an Iranian attacker in the box, and the subsequent dive, we fully expected a penalty.

There was no penalty. There was no goal for Iran. 1:0 USA, advancing from the group with no goals allowed from run of play. It might not have been as memorable as the Donovan goal...

But it's up there!