Christian Pulisic, with an early riser goal and an assistcommanded this Sunday the 2-0 victory of the host United States against Bolivia in the debut of both teams in the Copa América 2024.
Pulisic scored in the 3rd minute of this match that opened Group C, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with a beautiful shot right leg from the edge of the area. Then, in the 44th minute, the AC Milan forward gave the pass for his teammate Folarin Balogun to widen the gap.
“He’s a leader. He goes out on the field and just competes and works very hard and that helps the team and then you add the fact that he is a very skilled player (…). “He is a great combination,” US coach Gregg Berhalter said at a press conference. «Tonight he had an exceptional performance».
Survivor of the Copa América Centenario, in 2016, in which the United States reached the semifinals at home, Pulisic continues to rise up the ranks on the list of historical scorers of the national team.
The Rossonero winger reached 30 international goals, which equals Brian McBride and is only ahead of Clint Dempsey y Landon Donovanwith 57 each, Jozy Altidore, with 42, and Eric Wynalda, with 34.
“If you are not close to him, he is a player who makes a difference,” said Bolivia’s coach, Brazilian Antonio Carlos Zago.
The favorite of this group, Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay, faced Panama in Miami this Sunday in the second hour.
It didn’t take long for the United States to get back on track at the home of the five-time Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in front of nearly 48,000 spectators.
The ‘Captain America’, Pulisic, was in charge of giving momentum to the home owners against a Bolivia unable to score even a point in the three previous editions of the Copa América: 2016, 2019 and 2021. They now accumulate 13 consecutive defeats in the continental event.
The 25-year-old striker’s magnificent shot was touched by goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra, but the power of the whip caused the ball to end up in the back of the net. The wall of five men in defense and three midfielders that Bolivia had put in place collapsed too early.
“He cut off our legs”Zago acknowledged.
The match became a monologue of the home team, with good opportunities from Tim Weah and Gio Reyna, while Bolivia fell into a dangerous dynamic, filling up with yellow cards with warnings for Leonel Justiniano, Gabriel Villamil and Luis Haquín.
Already at the end of the first half, Gregg Berhalter’s team was rewarded for their control of the match: Pulisic opened the game for Balogun and he took a crossed left foot to make it 2-0.
Balogun, a player for Monaco in the French Ligue 1, was the center forward chosen by Berhalter for the debut, relegating Joshua Sargent and Ricardo Pepi to the bench. He responded like this to the trust that his coach gave him.
Bolivia’s coach, Brazilian Antonio Carlos Zago, revolutionized his team at the start of the first half with a triple substitution. However, on the field, few things changed.
The absolute command of the United States continued while the stands thundered with the “USA! USES!” and a new score by Balogun was disallowed in the 52nd minute due to Weah’s previous offside.
Pulisic appeared again around the hour mark, although this time Vizcarra was able to block. Pepi, coming on from the bench, and Pulisic himself had other clear chances, but they lacked aim and calmness to finish against the highland goalkeeper.
The game was going down one street. Bolivia, once again, was doomed to defeat.
2024-06-24 01:43:40
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