A youthful United States team was approaching  a win in its World Cup comeback when Walker Zimmerman crashed into Gareth Bale. Bale turned the resultant penalty kick into a goal in the 82nd minute,  providing Wales with a 1-1 draw that left the Americans frustrated. Now, their path to the knockout stage becomes more difficult.

Tim Weah gave the lead to the Americans in the 36th minute off a pass from Christian Pulisic. Brennan Johnson acted a throw-in that Aaron Ramsey cut back to Bale, who had his back to the goal near the penalty spot. Zimmerman's sliding tackle hit Bale's left leg, and Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim showed them to the penalty spot. Bale cleverly shot his 41st goal in 109 international appearances past goalkeeper Matt Turner. He secured a crucial point for Wales in its first World Cup match since 1958.