Reactions to Zimmerman Penalty in U.S. vs. Wales World Cup Match Are Brutal

While Team USA's opener in the World Cup started out looking good, the match took a turn toward the end of the second half after American defender Walker Zimmerman went in for a bad play against Welsh star Gareth Bales.

The U.S. was up 1-0 for most of the match, but the penalty was the turning point for both teams. When a team commits a penalty like that inside the box surrounding their own goal, the result is a penalty kick - a showdown between a single kicker and the goalkeeper.

Zimmerman's tackle set up Bales for the penalty kick, giving Wales the equalizing score, and leading to a 1-1 tie.

In a rare moment of national unity, it appears much of social media felt that Zimmerman's penalty was incredibly poor decision-making and far too costly to have made any sense.

The reactions on Twitter were absolutely brutal toward Zimmerman. Many of them were mocking him for the penalty.

While others joked about his team (and country) refusing to have anything to do with him after game.

There is plenty of disappointment to go around, but there were some bright spots in the match against Wales, and it looks like the U.S. men's team still has a path to qualify if they can tighten up their game. Despite a rough second half, there was a lot to be said for the way the team played the first half, and there was some solid defense in the second half.

Team USA has quite the challenge ahead of them in their next match. They'll be taking on England, who itself is fresh off a massive win over Iran over the weekend.