The United States began their run through the Copa America gauntlet burdened with heavy expectations of dominance in the early group stages, knowing they would need a win in their first two matches to secure any hope of winning Group C.
This first match was one in which opponent Bolivia had little to offer in terms of quality and the Americans needed to take three points or more to further boost their spirits and increase their chances of taking first place in the group.
That’s exactly what coach Gregg Berhalter’s men did, finding the net early thanks to a blast from Christian Pulisic and a precision shot from Folarin Balogun as the USMNT claimed a victory over La Verde that should set them up for future success in this tournament.
While the three points are a good sign, a win of just 2-0 may leave some in the team feeling like opportunities have been missed. The Americans attacked often, but only found the back of the net twice against the weakest team in the Copa America, according to the FIFA rankings.
But three points is what was expected of the United States and three points is what they got. The USMNT played some of its most complete attacking football in a while against an opponent that couldn’t defend against it. At a time when they needed a momentum boost, the Americans delivered and will look to ride this wave to greater success in the coming matches.
Christian Pulisic was at his brilliant best as the US swept Bolivia aside on Sunday evening
USMNT captain Pulisic (10) opened the scoring in a comfortable opening win in the Copa America
Dallas has been treated to a lot of American football in recent years, including the semi-finals and finals of the CONCACAF Nations League in March.
Perhaps that’s why so few people got to see FIFA’s 11th best team compete against a Bolivian side ranked 84th in the world: only 47,873 made the trek to burning Arlington, Texas, to seek solace in the shade and air conditioning of AT&T Stadium.
Those fans started to get their money’s worth within seconds of kick-off, as the Americans jumped on the front foot and whipped in a pair of crosses before even half a minute had passed.
The first goal of the match came after just three minutes. A short pass from Christian Pulisic’s corner was returned to him and the American captain was given the green light to score a curling chance from his own penalty area. His shot went off the crossbar and into the net to give the USMNT the lead. The USMNT winger ran to his sideline, celebrated with Berhalter and pointed to fans in the crowd.
Even when the Americans didn’t score, the attack flowed quite fluidly at the start of the first half. Fans stood in anticipation as the trio of Pulisic, Balogun and Timothy Weah completed a number of passes before Weah hit a shot that was parried by goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra. Five minutes later, Antonee ‘Jedi’ Robinson found Balogun again, but the Monaco forward’s shot was saved for a corner.
Early on, the midfield pressure of Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and surprise starter Tyler Adams was relentless on the trio of Bolivians in the same position – with the Americans winning their battles and generally preventing any La Verde build-up.
Folarin Balogun added to the US’s second-place finish as they started on home soil
Balogun scored his first goal since a friendly against Ghana in October 2023
But it was Pulisic who stole the show with an inspired display to get the hosts off the ground
The crowd roared its disapproval of what can only be called CONMEBOL antics as Lionel Justiniano challenged Reyna unnecessarily hard. The USMNT came together with a group of Bolivian players and a brief fight ensued, during which Justiniano was given a yellow card. Two minutes later, Reyna went down again and another card was given – this time to Bolivia captain Luis Haquin.
Ultimately, the Americans’ play became exhausted and disconnected as the half progressed. There didn’t seem to be any desperation, just expectation that they would find a second goal. Frustration and miscommunication led to loss of turnover. They needed a goal, and badly.
It came just before halftime for the US. Pulisic pushed up the middle and found Balogun on his left. Balogun fired the ball home with a sublime shot from his left foot. It was an important goal not only for this match, but also for himself, as the English convert looks to further establish himself as the best striker option for Berhalter’s squad.
The Americans tried to add to their score in the 50th minute when a low cross from Weah just missed Balogun’s foot and trickled over the back line. Luck was not on Balogun’s side for the second time, as a goal he thought he would score in the 53rd minute was disallowed for offside.
It was in this second half that Bolivia created the most threatening chances, but none really worried goalkeeper Matt Turner. He didn’t have to put in the same effort as in the 1-1 draw against Brazil, as La Verde never really proved dangerous in the build-up.
Gregg Berhalter will be happy with his team’s opening victory, despite the fact that it could have been even more comfortable
The Americans produced their most powerful attack in this second half, but were unable to convert a single chance. Pulisic tried to double his luck in the 60th minute, but an excellent save from Viscarra denied the American captain. Chants of “USA, US-A” rang out as fans sat on the rim begging for another goal.
Balogun and Reyna left for Ricardo Pepi and Johnny Cardoso respectively. Pepi was possibly the most snake-bitten player of the match, despite only playing 25 minutes. When the US needed a third goal, the Texan’s first shot rolled wide. Then three consecutive shots were saved by Viscarra as he shouted at the sky in frustration.
The final whistle blew when the United States got the job done, but not to the extent they expected. Their next test comes against Panama in Atlanta.