With the Olympics in full swing lets take a look how the US men’s team has performed. We must first take a look at the difference between the USMNT that played at Copa America and the team currently playing at the Olympics. Here is a story from WFAA.com that has a detailed explanation of the rules and the roster for the Olympic team.
8-2-24
USA 0, Morocco 4
Here is the full story from the AP
7-30-24
USA 3, Guinea 0
Coming into the match against Guinea the US team knew if they won they were more than likely going to advance to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics. This marks the 2nd time the US men’s team has made the quarterfinals since the change to the 23 and under format. The last time the US advanced out of the group stage was 24 years ago in Australia where they eventually finished 4th.
The Us got the goal scoring started early when Đorđe Mihailović hit a beauty of a free kick in the 14th minute. Mihailović is one of the 3 over 23 players on the team and has scored the first goal in the last 2 games for the US olympic team. A trio of youngsters in Paxten Aaronson, Griffin Yow, and Kevin Paredes would combine to set up the second goal in the 30th minute. Paredes placed a low shot after Aaronson’s needle threading pass found him in the 18 yard box. The US had the momentum and a 2-0 lead going into halftime.
The heat in Paris didn’t slow down the US as they dominated possession for most of the match. Both of Guinea’s Keepers made spectacular saves to keep the match close. Kevin Paredes got his brace in the 75th minute after running by a defender and hammering his shot home. US goalkeeper Patrick Schulte made a huge save in the closing minutes to secure the 3-0 US win.
France won Group A after beating New Zealand 3-0 and will play Argentina in the quarterfinals. The US plays Morocco, the surprise team that won Group B over Argentina at 6 am Pacific time on August 2nd.
7-27-24
USA 4, New Zealand 1
The US came out of the gates firing on all cylinders against New Zealand. The action started in the 6th minute when Nathan Harriel was fouled in the 18 yard box. After VAR review Đorđe Mihailović stepped up and nailed the penalty kick and put the US up 1-0, 8 minutes into the match. Just 4 minutes later another New Zealand foul leads to a US goal. In the 12th minute US forward Kevin Paredes was taken down and earned a free kick. Mihailović took the kick and put it into a crowd in the box after a couple swings and misses. It was the old-timer 31-year-old Walker Zimmerman that found the back of the net for the 2-0 US lead. The scoring wasn’t over Gianluca Busio got his own rebound off a shot and knocked it home in the 30th minute for a commanding 3-0 lead going into halftime.
The US left no doubt in the second half getting a goal in the 58th minute when Griffin Yow made a nice run to the end line and found Paxten Aaronson for goal number 4. That is the first time the US has ever scored 4 goals in an Olympic men’s soccer match. New Zealand is a tough squad and weren’t going away without a fight. Jesse Randall scored the final goal of the match in the 78th minute for the 4-1 final score.
The US closes out Group A play with 0-0-2 Guinea while New Zealand plays group leader France on July 30th.
USA 0, France 3
The first US match was held before the Opening Ceremonies were held for the Paris Olympics against none other than the host country France. The Stars and Stripes held their own in the first half and kept a clean sheet at halftime.
The French attack was just too much for the American in the end. Alexandre Lacazette got the goal scoring going in the 61st minute on an assist from Michael Olise. Those two would connect again in the 69th but this time it was Lacazette assisting Olise’s goal. Loic Bade scored the final goal of the match on an assist from Joris Chotard.
That result put the US on their heels in Group A and made their next match very important after New Zealand beat Guinea 2-1 in the other Group A match.
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