Follow live reaction to the USMNT overcoming Bolivia 2-0 thanks to goals from Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun
Michael Dominski
Getty Images
Result — USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
- 3’: Christian Pulisic curls home opener from edge of box
- 43’: Folarin Balogun makes it two with smart finish
- Uruguay and Panama clash in second Group C game later
Group C outlook
Now that the USMNT has opened play in Group C with their win over Bolivia, here's a look at the remaining fixtures.
Uruguay vs Panama in Miami. Florida kicks off at the top of this hour – follow our live coverage of that match here.
Thursday June 27
- Panama vs USMNT in Atlanta, Georgia
- Uruguay vs Bolivia in East Rutherford, New Jersey
Monday July 1
- USMNT vs Uruguay in Kansas City, Missouri
- Bolivia vs Panama in Orlando, Florida
Advertisem*nt
But not everyone was impressed
Other readers on our discussion page were less pleased with the USMNT's performance, with a few singling out the central defenders for criticism.
Jeremiah I.: This really hasn't been that good of a performance, if we're being honest. Definitely some bright spots here and there, but not great.
Joe S.: Chris Richards has been scary bad on the ball. Almost every Bolivia attack has followed one of his errant passes or getting caught in possession.
Larry N.: Ream is a disaster perpetually waiting to happen
Praise for Pulisic
A good portion of subscribers commenting on our discussion page were happy with the USMNT's performance, singling out the captain for praise.
Jay R.: Pulisic best player on the pitch tonight by some distance.
Asta Q.: Beautiful passes by Pulisic.
Kevin P.: 3 points, clean sheet, 2 goals. Should have been 5 goals, but no matter. Good result, beat Panama and we are on to the knockout.
Match stats reflect US domination
Opta
The US outshot Bolivia 20 to six, outshot them inside the box 15 to zero, and had 35 touches in the opposition's box compared to just one for Bolivia.
Instant reaction to USMNT's win
The Athletic's Paul Tenorio, Jeff Rueter and Greg O’Keeffe have broken down the key talking points from this match, looking at Christian Pulisic’s impact as captain, Folarin Balogun's performance leading the line, and Tyler Adams' return to the starting lineup.
Follow the link below to check out their breakdown!
Pulisic crediting set-piece coach
Getty Images
When Christian Pulisic celebrated his goal in the third minute by pointing to the stands, we wondered who exactly he was pointing to.
Fox's Jenny Taft brought us the answer in the second half, saying that the US captain was pointing to the team's set-piece coach Gianni Vio, saying “where’s Gianni, where’s Gianni?”
Advertisem*nt
The kids are alright
With a starting lineup that had an average age of 25 years, the US are the youngest team to win a match at Copa America since 2011, when Costa Rica also beat Bolivia.
Scoreline matches expected goals
It does feel like the USMNT deserved more, but the final expected goals figures on this one will be in line with the score, 2.4 to 0.2.
Every once in a while this game gives a fair shake to the poor statistical modelers.
FT: USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
The referee blows for full time and that's that. A positive start to Copa America for the USMNT, who come away with all three points despite feeling like they could have run up their goal difference more.
Viscarra has been brilliant this half
90+3' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
Guillermo Viscarra has produced a defiant performance in goal for Bolivia in this second half. Sure he's rode his luck at times but the 31-year-old has managed to thwart the US repeatedly and typified that with his scramble to somehow keep Pepi out again just a few moments ago.
FOUR minutes added on
Getty Images
90+2' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
We're into four minutes of second-half stoppage time.
Jesus Sagredo absolutely cleans Pepi out with a reckless sliding tackle and is promptly booked.
Advertisem*nt
Viscarra denies Pepi!
90' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
How has Pepi not scored?!
His first-time shot from point-blank range is saved by Viscarra. Pepi likely should have done a better job directing that effort further away from the keeper.
The rebound bobbles up in the air before the Bolivian defense manage to scramble it away. Hard to believe the US haven't scored more than two goals tonight.
Impressive performance by USMNT
Getty Images
89' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
I have absolutely no skin in this game — I'm not American and I don't cover the USMNT — but I've been pretty impressed with this display. Sure, they are facing are a pretty limited team, but Gregg Berhalter's men have been intense and dynamic, constantly yanking the Bolivian defence this way and that. The 2-0 scoreline flatters the South Americans.
Robinson's hard work yields free kick
88' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
Robinson makes an impressively long run for this late in the game before winning a free kick near the side of Bolivia's box. It's in a decent crossing position and the US could really benefit from padding its lead here, but Pulisic's driven delivery doesn't clear the first defender.
Aaronson joins the fray
86' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
The tenth and final sub of this match sees Brenden Aaronson come on in place of Tim Weah.
Viscarra stonewalling Pepi
Getty Images
81' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
Two big chances for Pepi in the space of two minutes but Viscarra comes up with two big saves to deny both!
Advertisem*nt
De la Torre on for McKennie
Getty Images
78' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
The US make their fourth change, replacing Weston McKennie with Luca de la Torre.
Decent crowd tonight
Getty Images
78' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
In the end, an attendance of 47,873 here in Arlington. Not a bad number for the USMNT in general and it has to be said that this is a very, very pro-U.S. crowd.
Every goal counts
Getty Images
76' USMNT 2-0 Bolivia
The US still have at least 15 minutes to pad their tiebreaker goal-difference number. These missed big chances could come back to haunt them.
Load more updates
