Discover the prestigious CONMEBOL Copa América, the oldest continental soccer competition, uniting national teams from South and North America.
It's a win to start Copa America for the U.S. men's national team.
The USMNT on Sunday beat Bolivia 2-0 in their Copa America group-stage opener at AT&T Stadium in Texas, collecting three points early.
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The U.S. couldn't have asked for a better -- and faster -- start.
In just the third minute off a corner kick, Christian Pulisic found some room and netted into the top right corner. Guillermo Viscarra had no chance at saving it due to the swerve, with Tim Weah being credited for the assist.
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From there, the U.S. dominated possession and didn't let Bolivia generate much of its own chances. The biggest critique from the first half was the lack of conviction from the U.S. following Pulisic's opener.
Folarin Balogun wasted a few moments while Weah looked lively down the right flank. But Balogun's fortunes reversed in the 44th minute.
Soccer
Gio Reyna found Pulisic between the lines, who quickly turned up the field and passed it wide to Balogun, who then did tremendously to find the bottom right corner with his weaker left foot.
With a 2-0 lead at the interval, the U.S. took off Tyler Adams as he continues to regain fitness from an injury with Yunus Musah replacing him in midfield.
Three Bolivians also were on yellow cards, and three players were substituted at the break. Midfielder Leonel Justiniano was one of the players on a yellow who came off.
The game state quieted in the second half, with most of the action coming after Ricardo Pepi entered the game for Balogun in the 65th minute.
However, it was primarily unfortunate action. Pepi finished the game with six shots, but had three big chances missed on 1.95 expected goals on target.
One of the key chances came in the 90th minute, but Viscarra came up big for Bolivia.
In the end, it was a muffled domination by the U.S., which should've won by at least two more goals.
The U.S. generated 2.40 expected goals, via FotMob, while Bolivia had just 0.18 in a game where Matt Turner rarely had to move.
The U.S. logged 20 shots with eight on target to six for Bolivia with three on target.
Pulisic, Weah, Balogun and Antonee Robinson were among the standouts for the U.S., with Musah having a solid display off the bench.
Next up for the U.S. is the second group game against Panama on Thursday, June 27. Panama will play Uruguay later on Sunday, so the exact stakes won't be known just yet.
Bolivia will play Uruguay also on Thursday, with the latter expected to be the favorite to win that affair.
There's still plenty to improve on for the U.S., but Bolivia likely was its easiest opponent of the tournament. Panama doesn't have gamebreakers like Bolivia, but it is a more disciplined and physical team that can give better nations fits on its day.
The U.S., specifically, will need to improve on capitalizing on its chances. More players besides Pulisic need to step up, too, such as when Balogun finished with his weak foot. Other attackers like Pepi and even Reyna will have to get involved on the scoresheet more often.
If the U.S. keeps deferring to Pulisic, they'll eventually run out of offensive options to conquer the better teams.
