A World Cup Goal & The Story Of Two Nations

How football added a nicer dimension to the shared history between big, rich US and tiny, troubled Liberia

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The attack began from the left. Christian Pulisic, the nifty US forward barreled through the middle, his precision pass knifing through the Welsh defence. The ball was intended for fellow American Timothy Weah, who timed his run with exactness and pace to beat the offside trap and poke the ball with the outstep of his boot past the despairing keeper.

In this World Cup, politics has been more talked about than on-field play. Conservative hosts refusing to serve beer in the stadium, Iranian team producing the loudest sound of silence by refusing to sing the national anthem in solidarity with the anti-hijab protesters back home, players being forced to drop the OneLove band displaying solidarity with the LGBTQ community have been some headline moments.

But Timothy’s goal carried the fragrance and weight of history like none other. In his Instagram post after the match, the US forward wrote, “A dream to score in my first World Cup match … This was for USA … This was for Liberia … This was for Jamaica.”