Christian Pulisic, with an early goal and an assist, led the team’s victory USA regarding the Bolivia 2-0 this Sunday, in the home team’s debut in the America Cupno AT&T Stadium, em Arlington (Texas).
Pulisic scored after three minutes in the game that opened Group C with a beautiful shot from the edge of the box. Then, at 44, the Milan striker passed to Folarin Balogun to extend the lead for the Americans.
Reminiscent of the Copa América Centenario, in 2016, in which the United States reached the semifinals at home, Pulisic continues to climb the list of historic top scorers for the American team.
Ladies and gentlemen, ✨ HE ✨ pic.twitter.com/m9Z6t4V9ZJ
— CONMEBOL Copa América™️ (@CopaAmerica) June 24, 2024
The striker reached 30 goals and equaled Brian McBride’s mark. Now he is ahead of only Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, with 57 goals, Jozy Altidore, with 42, and Eric Wynalda, with 34.
“Now we have to take this good moment into the next games, because we have some difficult games ahead of us that are very important for us,” said Pulisic after the match.
Single team game
It wasn’t long before the United States began to dominate fragile Bolivia. Pulisic was in charge of putting the hosts at an advantage against an opponent who had not scored a single point in the last three editions of the Copa América and now has 13 consecutive defeats in the tournament.
The 25-year-old striker’s beautiful shot was in the corner of goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra, who touched the ball, but did not prevent the Americans’ first goal.
The Bolivian defensive line with five players and three midfielders in front collapsed in three minutes. The duel quickly became a one-team game, with good opportunities from Tim Weah and Gio Reyna, while Bolivia could only hold back by committing fouls, leaving Leonel Justiniano, Gabriel Villamil and Luis Haquín hanging with yellow cards.
In the final stretch of the first half, coach Gregg Berhalter’s team had its superiority rewarded: Pulisic passed to Balogun, who crossed the ball to make it 2-0.
Balogun, a Monaco player, was the center forward chosen by Berhalter for the debut, leaving Joshua Sargent and Ricardo Pepi on the bench.
Bolivia’s coach, Brazilian Antônio Carlos Zago, made three changes to the team for the second half. However, nothing changed on the field.
“We gained a little more mobility in attack (…), we arrived a little more, but we were more exposed defensively”, analyzed Zago in the post-game press conference. “We could give more”, lamented the coach. “We conceded a goal after three minutes and then it all went downhill.”
The United States continued to dominate and a new goal by Balogun was disallowed due to Weah being offside at the start of the play. Then, Pulisic appeared again in another attempt, this time saved by Vizcarra.
In the final stretch, Pepi, who replaced Giovanni Reyna, and Pulisic himself had other clear opportunities, but lacked aim and calmness when finishing.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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