♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, team usa. >> usa, usa! >> the men's national team just hours away from a win or go home showdown in doha. >> we're going to do everything we can to bring this thing home. >> under a global spotlight decades in the making. the star players -- >> i think most kids dream of lifting the trophy, winning the world cup for your country. >> this is a young team, an exciting team, an enchanting team. >> the world cup thrilling fans with stunning upsets and edge of your seats victories. and plenty of controversy. plus cruise ship miracle. >> i was never accepting that this is it. this is going to be the end of my life. >> the exclusive abc news interview with the man who survived 20 hours in

shark-infested waters after falling off the ship. >> i been taking off my socks, waving them around my head, trying to do something where they would see me. >> how did he escape death, what he ate to stay alive. one prilosec otc each morning blocks heartburn all day and all night. prilosec otc reduces excess acid for 24 hours, blocking heartburn before it starts. one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn.

♪ good evening. thank you for joining us.

for team usa, it comes down to this, a win or go home match against the netherlands. the young star players are just one victory away from reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in 20 years and only the third time in history. that's just one of the major and exciting storylines from the world cup. here's abc's will reeve from doha. >> reporter: it's the quadrennial spectacle that captivates the planet. the world cup unites soccer fans in passion and hope around the globe. >> usa, usa! >> reporter: on the pitch, this year's tournament in qatar, wonderfully chaotic already. surprising upsets like japan beating spain. >> the second comeback against a top nation of world football -- >> reporter: and saudi arabia's opening game victory over lionel messi and argentina, seismic. >> a stunner.

one of the biggest upsets in world cup history. >> reporter: messi catching some grief from some gleeful saudi fans. 32 teams qualify for the world cup. now we're down to the final 16. >> you have favorites like germany, for instance, completely out of the tournament. i tell you what, this also excites me because this is the opportunity for us to say good-bye to some all-time greats like messi, which is like saying good-bye to serena or michael jordan. messi has meant that much to the sport. >> reporter: only eight teams have ever won the world cup, all from europe or south america. >> usa, usa! >> reporter: soccer has a growing hardcore american fan base. the 2022 u.s. men's national team is the second youngest in the world cup. its biggest star and best player is christian pulisic. unofficial nickname "captain america." >> i just love to play this game, to be honest. i don't think too much about individual things. i like the quote, you know, if you play for the badge on the

front of your jersey, people will remember the name on the back. >> reporter: this year's team the most diverse. 23-year-old tyler adams is the first black world cup captain in u.s. soccer history. >> representing the crest is probably the biggest, most significant thing you can do in your footballing career. we have three words we symbolize with brave, diverse, relentless. that's what we try to embody. >> if you haven't watched soccer before, i think you can connect with at least one person on this team, from their background, things that they believe in, their personality. >> this is a young team, it's an exciting team, it's an enchanting team. >> i think they're awesome. they are hungry. and they are so talented. >> reporter: american soccer superfan erin brooks flew to qatar to cheer on the u.s. in its must-win final group stage match against iran on tuesday. >> in ways it was crazy. but the energy, everybody was so excited. because we knew that it was win or go home. everything was on the line for that game. >> pulisic!

scores! >> reporter: pulisic scoring the goal of his life, the only one of the game, and putting his body on the line to do it. the 24-year-old briefly hospitalized for tests, but cleared to play in the round of 16. >> it's a pelvic contusion. >> it's not a euphemism, it's what it sounds like. >> no, but at the same time, it's not. i didn't get hit in the balls. i'm all right. i'm all right. it was very painful. but like i said, i'm getting better. >> reporter: after their win to send them through to the knockout stage, this human moment on the pitch between american antony robinson and iranian raman reysayn. >> there are far greater stakes than just winning a soccer match. >> reporter: the iranian players bearing an untold burden. >> there is concern that there will be repercussions against the iranian players from the iranian government.

before their first match, the iranian men's team did not sing their national anthem. and that was seen as a protest. solidarity with the women of iran and with those who are protesting for rights for women in their home country. and that's why we saw the u.s. team hugging those guys and consoling them and really caring very much for them. >> reporter: soccer and politics are inextricably linked, especially at this world cup, the first ever in the middle east. qatar's human rights record under intense scrutiny. >> the fact of the matter is, is that when you're talking the world cup or olympics or any global sports get-together, it's going to have to be something that's going to be clouded by politics and geopolitics of the nations that are going to participate. so yes, there are going to be violations that many nations overlook in order to participate in this. >> reporter: american players like adams have been forced to

answer uncomfortable questions. >> first of all, you say you support the iranian people, but you're pronouncing our country's name wrong. our country is ee-rahn, not eye-ran. second of all, are you okay representing a country that has so much discrimination against black people in its own borders? >> my apologies on the mispronunciation of your country. yeah, that being said, you know, there's discrimination everywhere you go. you know, one thing that i've learned, especially from living abroad in the past years, having to fit in in different cultures and kind of assimilate into different cultures, is that in the u.s., we're continuing to make progress every single day. >> reporter: adams' poised and measured response no surprise to his stepfather, darrell sullivan. >> it's self-explanatory. tyler was chosen as captain because of what he does on the field as well as off the field. he handled it with class, he handled it with dignity.

and that's what he's about. >> reporter: adams' former school principal and family friend, dave seipe, watched tyler grow up to be the star player he is today. >> we see on tv, you know, the incredible soccer player he is. but for me, he's a 10 times better person than he is a soccer player. he's got tremendous character, integrity, morals, ethics. >> reporter: adams started playing pro while in high school. just a sophomore when he signed with the new york red bulls in 2015. >> this picture here, right, that was the day we had the two graduations. tyler graduated first. then we had darrell's graduation after. we had to have tyler's graduation first because he had to go play a game. >> reporter: the 2022 world cup represents a chance at redemption for the u.s. men's national team. >> the whistle. it's good! it's over! it is over! trinidad with nothing to play for has dethroned the united

states! >> every hero needs to face a setback so they can have a comeback. take me back to the moment where you knew that you wouldn't be in the world cup in 2018. >> you know, my number one dream was to play for team usa in a world cup. so you can imagine when i -- when it really hit that we wouldn't be there. i couldn't understand why it happened. i was obviously so upset, so emotional. but you know, looking back on it, that motivated me that much more. >> reporter: that motivation has served pulisic well. my colleague maggie rulli spoke to the superstar and his parents in 2020 when he was already making a splash on the international scene and had his sights set on 2022. >> both of us played soccer collegiately. then i played professionally. >> at 2 years old, my husband and i both saw a very strong athletic ability. both of us being into sport, being into teaching, we knew

that he had a gift. >> what were some of the big life lessons your parents taught you? that stick with you today? >> the number one thing is putting confidence in me, telling me to always believe in myself no matter who i'm playing against, no matter where i come from. >> reporter: in hours the u.s. team will face its toughest test yet, a knockout game against the netherlands. the only team standing between them and america's first quarterfinal appearance since 2002. back when adams and pulisic and many other players on the team were barely toddlers. it's a long shot, but in the world cup, all you need is a shot. >> that ball bounces in mysterious ways. i wouldn't count out this u.s. team. >> i think most kids' dream is lifting the trophy, winning the world cup for your country. that's the dream. just to be here and play and be a part of it and have the opportunity is special. so i'm going to give it everything that i have. >> our thanks to will. cruise ship miracle.

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it's the story plenty of people are talking about. the man who fell overboard on a cruise ship. rescuers say he was dangerously close to not making it. tonight he shares what he did to survive 20 hours in shark-infested waters. an exclusive interview with abc news. here's eva pilgrim. >> it was a thanksgiving to remember. >> reporter: james michael grimes knows he's lucky to be alive. >> my worst fear is drowning. and that was something i did not

want to have to face. >> reporter: the 28-year-old going overboard a cruise ship in the middle of the night saying he spent about 20 hours treading water alone in the gulf of mexico. >> i wanted to see my family. i was dead set on making it out of there. i was never accepting that this is it, this is going to be the end of my life. >> reporter: it was supposed to be a thanksgiving celebration. james michael and 18 family members boarding the carnival "valor" last wednesday in new orleans. >> we were hanging out, having a good time, watching some live music. that's pretty much it. >> did you have a few drinks? >> uh -- i had during the day. and i'd actually did, like, an air guitar solo. there was a competition they were doing and i'd won it. so i'd won a free drink. so i had that. ♪ >> but you hadn't had -- you weren't inebriated, had a ton of drinks? >> no, ma'am, no.

>> how many drinks do you think you'd had? >> uh, it's -- i couldn't really say. >> reporter: around 11:00 p.m. that first night on board, james michael told his sister he was going to the bathroom. what happened next is still unclear. do you remember leaving and going to find the bathroom? >> no, ma'am. >> do you remember falling off the boat? >> no. >> you don't know how it happened? >> no, ma'am. i came to, regained consciousness, i was in the water with no boat in sight. >> so you for a while were passed out in the water? >> yes, ma'am. yep. and -- i can't float myself even when i'm trying to so there had to be, you know -- the lord was with me when i was out there. because something was holding me up the whole time while i was passed out. >> reporter: the next day, when he hadn't returned to his cabin, his family alerted the ship's crew. at 2:30, more than 12 hours

after james michael was last seen, carnival notified the coast guard of a missing passenger. >> we did have a fairly significant search area. it was a potential of over 7,000 miles of ocean we had to search. >> reporter: james michael was alone in an area known to be a feeding ground for sharks. >> i thought it was a shark. i mean, i was swimming in one direction, i looked around, i seen it out of the corner of my eye. and it came up on me really quick. i went under, i could see it, and it wasn't a shark, i don't believe. but it had more like a flat mouth. it came up and bumped one of my legs, and i kicked it with the other leg. it scared me, not knowing what it was or, at the time, how big it was. all i could see was a fin. >> reporter: the avid outdoorsman tried to stay positive and calm. exhausted and hungry, he ate what he could find to maintain his energy. >> a stick come floating by, looked like bamboo. i started eating on it. it actually -- i won't say it

tasted good, but it gave some type of flavor in my mouth other than saltwater. >> was there any point while you were out there where you thought, i don't know how much longer i can keep doing this? >> when it started getting back towards nighttime again, the water started getting colder. at that time i thought, you know, how much longer am i going to have to be out here? >> yeah. but you just kept swimming? >> yes, ma'am. you know, the fall didn't kill me, you know. sea creatures didn't eat me. i felt like i was meant to get out of there. >> reporter: as the sun was going down thanksgiving night, james michael says he spotted a glimmer of hope. the lights from a tanker ship. and decided to swim towards it. >> that was my final little burst of energy. the strength that i had, i used pretty much every bit of it to try to make it. >> reporter: the coast guard then arriving. his miraculous rescue captured on camera. when the coast guard got there, what happened?

>> oh, they circled the boat two or three times looking for me. you know, i was -- i done taken off my socks and everything, waving them around my head, trying to do something where they would see me. when that light finally hit me, somehow i heard "we got him." i seen a guy coming down from that helicopter. and it was coming towards me, you know. right then i thought, man, i see the light. >> when the coast guard guy showed up in the water, what did you say to him? >> well, the first thing i told him was, "i don't have any clothes on." because i didn't. i done stripped out of everything. he said, "that's fine." it's like, okay. he told me to hold on to this life vest. and i was thinking, thank you, you're like a guardian angel coming down for me. >> reporter: his rescuers believe he was seconds away from not making it. >> i swam to him as fast as i could. as i got to him, i shoved the

rescue sling under his arms, he collapsed into it. he had nothing left. >> reporter: james michael says the whole experience has given him new purpose. >> these were actually the pants that i planned on wearing on the cruise but never got to. and i put them on this morning. i reached in the pocket, and it was something, a fortune that says "life's a beach, enjoy the waves." >> do you think it changed you? >> yes, definitely. it opened my eyes. i take things for granted, i reckon, or a lot of people do. >> do you think you'll go on a cruise ship again? >> yeah, i will. >> really? >> yeah. i ain't going to let it discourage me, that much. i might not get within 10 foot of the rails, but i definitely would be open to going on another cruise. because i really didn't get to go on this one. >> our thanks to eva. carnival told abc news their cruise ships have safety barriers in all public areas that are regulated by u.s. coast

guard standards that prevent a guest from falling off. the only way to go overboard, according to the cruise line, is to purposefully climb up and over the safety barriers. up next, a philly christmas. the philadelphia eagles coming off the field to tackle a christmas album. ♪ >> merry christmas, philadelphia. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions,

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♪ finally tonight, the three linemen for the philadelphia eagles trading the sound of the gridiron for christmas classics. ♪ i'll have a blue christmas ♪ >> out this week from "a philly special christmas: blue christmas." >> it's 98 degrees, and we're recording a christmas album. >> the players documenting their recording in "a philly special christmas mini doc" for charity, proceeds going to children's crisis treatment center. ♪ i said hi yi-yi-yi i'm dreaming of a white christmas ♪

>> reporter: the players also delivering soulful renditions of "white christmas" and "santa claus is coming to town." the trio is releasing a new single every friday until the album comes out on december 23rd. ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ >> and that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right back here same time monday. thanks for the company, america.