November 30, 2022 World Cup news and highlights

By Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes, Elise Hammond and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 5:36 p.m. ET, November 30, 2022

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12:01 p.m. ET, November 30, 2022

All-women refereeing team makes history at men’s World Cup

From Matt Foster in London

Thursday’s Group E FIFA World Cup match between Costa Rica and Germany will see an all-women refereeing team for the first time in men’s World Cup history.

Frenchwoman Stephanie Frappart will lead the refereeing team, making her the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match.

Frappart, 38, became the first woman to referee a men’s UEFA Champions League game in December 2020. She refereed the women’s World Cup final in 2019 between the USA and the Netherlands, and the men’s UEFA Super Cup final the same year.

After Frappart officiated that UEFA Super Cup Final, she told CNN, “I didn’t think about breaking barriers or making history, only doing my job and only that.”

On the pressure of making history, Frappart said: “So this pressure, I know the feeling. I know how I can manage it – I think it was the same as the final of the [2019] World Cup. I always say the pressure is [from the] outside, not on my side.”

Rwandan official Salima Mukansanga and Yamashita Yoshimi from Japan are also part of the officiating pool for the 2022 men’s World Cup.

Germany takes on Costa Rica at the Al Bayt Stadium at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday.

12:05 p.m. ET, November 30, 2022

Team USA advances after tough match against Iran. Next up, the Netherlands on Saturday

From CNN's Matias Grez

Left to right: Sean Johnson, Aaron Long and Yunus Musah celebrate after defeating Iran on Tuesday. (Ashley Landis/AP)

The US Men’s National Team (USMNT) was made to work hard for its place in the World Cup knockout stage, earning a tough 1-0 win over Iran in a nerve-racking Group B decider Tuesday.

Christian Pulisic’s first-half goal was all that separated the two sides as the USMNT reached the round of 16 for the first time since 2014.

The pressure was certainly on for Gregg Berhalter’s side in Qatar after the national team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but the US got the job done with three gritty group performances.

It certainly wasn’t pretty at times, in particular in the closing stages against Iran, but progressing through the group stage was the minimum expectation for this exciting young team.

There will be some concerns going into the knockout stages, though, after Pulisic suffered an abdominal injury while scoring the winner.

The USMNT will be hoping its star man, dubbed "Captain America" by some, is fit for the round of 16 match against the Netherlands on Saturday following the news that Pulisic had been sent to hospital for a scan.

Berhalter on Wednesday said he feels good after the team advanced to the World Cup Round of 16, but he wants "to keep this thing rolling."

"I think it's just about focus. We're not done. It's nice to get to the next round but we want to keep going. We had two tournaments that we were looking at, the group stage tournament and the knockout tournament and now we are here in the knockout. I just want to keep this thing rolling," Berhalter said on "CNN This Morning."

"He seems to be doing good," Berhalter said.

"We'll see what he can do on the training field tomorrow and hopefully he'll be ready for the game against Netherlands," he said.

"But in terms of his contribution to the group, I've said it all along when one of your most talented players is also one of the hardest workers, you know you are in a good spot," he added.

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