The United States tried to win three games 1-0, and on the third try, it finally succeeded.

And so the Americans will advance to the knockout round of the World Cup to face the Netherlands on Saturday, in spite of a strategy that begged, dared and cajoled Iran to go get an equalizer for the final 45 minutes of a heart-stopping 1-0 win on Tuesday.

That achieved the base expectation of this World Cup — an appearance in the knockout stage. If the United States is going to go any further, then there can be no more of this.

No more turning into a defensive shell after going up a goal. No more bafflingly letting Giovanni Reyna waste away on the bench. No more failures in game management — and yes, this is about Haji Wright shooting the ball instead of going straight to the corner flag late in Tuesday’s game, leading to a final chance from Iran.