It was the 84th minute of the match, with Argentina already up 2-0 against Poland. Head coach Lionel Scaloni made his last substitution of the match to replace Alexis Mac Allister and give the nod to Atlanta United's midfielder Thiago Almada.
Almada became the first active ATL UTD player to play in a FIFA World Cup.
He had a total of 15 touches in the attacking third completing 13 of his passes, including a good through ball that almost became an assist towards the end of the match. After the match, Almada spoke with the media in the stadium mixed zone:
"I'm very happy for my World Cup debut. I'm the happiest kid in the world, like any other little child who dreams while having a ball in his feet", said Almada. "We talked internally that when we get hit hard we have to react and thankfully we got up quick. Now we need to keep going."
The result against Poland secured the top spot in Group C to an Argentinean team who had suffered an upsetting defeat in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022 against Saudi Arabia. Argentina will now face Australia in the Round of 16.
Join your fellow 17s to cheer on Thiago Almada and the United States National Team at our watch parties in Fado Buckhead and Sport & Social. For more information visit our World Cup hub: atlutd.com/qatar2022/
