• USA reached the last 16 with a hard-earned 1-0 win over IR Iran

• The Americans, who now face the Netherlands, have yet to concede from open play

• Tim Ream speaks to FIFA+ about this unexpected defensive success story

"We deserve this,” said a proud Gregg Berhalter. And they really did.

Barring one lacklustre half against Wales, USA’s Qatar 2022 campaign has been outstanding – brimming with energy, enthusiasm and attacking enterprise.

These three attributes are, in truth, the foundation on which American fans always hoped their last-16 push would be built. Few of those supporters, however, would have dared dream that defensive solidity would end up being that campaign’s corner stone.

Zero goals conceded from open play tells its own story and, better still, USA’s defence rarely looked like being breached again IR Iran, Wales or even the star-studded English. That has raised eyebrows though because, of all the Concacaf teams to qualify for Qatar 2022, the Americans’ defensive record was the poorest – worse even than the Costa Rica side that scraped through only to concede seven to Spain in their opening match.

Berhalter couldn’t even claim to have an established, preferred centre-back pairing. Indeed, the two men who helped keep the team’s latest clean sheet, Tim Ream and Cameron Carter-Vickers, had never even played together before lining up side-by-side to face the Iranians in a massive, must-win fixture.

Somehow, though, this unfamiliar and erstwhile porous US rearguard has made history here in Qatar, becoming the nation’s first in fully 92 years to rack up successive shutouts at the global finals. Not bad.

“Not bad at all!” a buoyant, beaming Ream told FIFA+. “That 1930 stat was actually mentioned inside the changing room, and it’s good for us. We know that if we can keep clean sheets we give ourselves every chance. Tonight showed that again. It’s a nice record to have and we’re just so happy to make it into the last 16. Now the real fun begins!”

Although Ream has been the one constant at the heart of USA’s defence at this World Cup, it hasn’t always been this way. The veteran defender has spent long spells out of favour with a succession of national coaches, played just once during qualifying, and was so pessimistic about his chances of a call-up for Qatar that he booked a family holiday to Disneyland.

Carter-Vickers was even further out in the cold, having endured three years without so much as a call-up before returning to the squad earlier this year. Outstanding form for Celtic earned that long-awaited recall, and it was the 24-year-old’s experiences for the Scottish champions – so often dominant against defensive opponents – that convinced Berhalter to bench Walker Zimmerman.

“That was a difficult conversation with Walker,” admitted Berhalter, whose side now face the Netherlands in the round of 16 on Saturday. “But the rationale was that Cam does this. “We expected Iran to be in a low block and Cam does this every single week with Celtic. He’s used to defending space behind, he’s also used to building up against a compact defence. To me, that made him a good fit and he played really well.”

Indeed he did, with the burly former Tottenham Hotspur man forming an instant rapport with his 35-year-old defensive partner. “We’d only had a few training sessions together before today but, listen, I’m easy,” Ream told us. “I’m happy to play with any of the guys back there and I just try to talk my way through the game.

“I’m just happy to be here,” the US centre-back added. “It was not expected and it will be my last opportunity at a World Cup, so to be thrown in with these guys who’ve been working their tails off for the past 14 months to qualify and be a part of the group again, it’s fantastic. It’s a proud achievement and I’m loving it. I really am.

“At my age, there’s no anxiety, no nerves. I’m just enjoying the moment, enjoying the ride, enjoying everything that the World Cup brings. And hopefully it brings a lot more.”

If USA defend in the same way against the Dutch, there is every chance that Ream’s unexpected Qatari adventure could stretch on and on.