It only took 30 minutes at the Stade Vélodrome to ease tensions and lift spirits.
Early goals from Djordje Mihajlovic, Walker Zimmerman and Gianluca Busio, plus one from Paxton Aaronson in the second half, gave the United States a comfortable 4-1 win over New Zealand and a major boost to their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
The goal set a U.S. men's Olympic record and came three days after a 3-0 loss to gold medal favorite France.
“The team was able to quickly forget about France and move on,” Mihajlovic said. “We have to do it again.”
A win or a draw against Guinea on Tuesday in Saint-Etienne would put the U.S. men's team on track to reach the Olympic finals, something they haven't done since 2000.
Group A favorite France (2-0, 6 points) defeated Guinea (0-2-0) 1-0 late Saturday, while the U.S. moved into second place (1-1-0, 3 points), ahead of New Zealand (1-1-0, 3 points) on goal difference. The U.S. is tied and New Zealand is minus-2. New Zealand will face France in Marseille on Tuesday. Two teams advance.
This is the first time the U.S. men will be competing in the Olympics since 2008. The tournament is for players 23 and under, with three exceptions per team, but with the World Cup approaching, several U.S. players are being eyed for the national team.
Despite the loss to France, the U.S. team said they were pleased with their performance and are optimistic they can win their next two games against opponents who, on paper, are not at their level. The U.S. team created a number of quality chances against France but stumbled in the finishing touches.
U.S. coach Marko Mitrovic was so pleased with his team's performance that he made no changes to his lineup for Saturday's match.
“The atmosphere was calm,” said Aaronson, whose brother Brenden is on the 2022 World Cup squad. “Everybody handled the pressure well, you could see that in the way they started the game. They were hungry and motivated.”
The scoring spree began in the eighth minute when Mihailovic converted a penalty after Nathan Harriel was brought down in the penalty area. Four minutes later, Mihailovic took a free kick into the penalty area, setting up a scramble that was finished off by Zimmerman, the only U.S. player with World Cup experience, smashing the ball into the net from inside the six-yard box.
“If you start off with a 2-0 lead, it makes the game a lot easier,” Mitrovic said.
Mihajlovic and Zimmermann, along with Myles Robinson, were among Mitrovic's over-age players selected.
“It's good to have the older guys liven up the party,” Mihajlovic said, “and then the younger guys carry it on.”
Zimmermann, a 6-foot-3 center back, is known for scoring goals with his head rather than his feet.
“That's something I definitely didn't expect,” Bucio said with a laugh.
“Just a little sneaky,” Zimmerman said with a laugh. “Just a little cocky.”
The momentum continued until the 30th minute, when left back John Tolkin broke down the left wing and sent a cross to Kevin Paredes (South Riding, Virginia), who touched the ball to Bucio, whose initial shot was blocked, and the ball ricocheted off the line and Bucio weaved through a tangle of bodies to score from 10 yards out.
“We had to start well, start fast,” Zimmerman said after the loss to France. He added that “we were up 3-0 and maybe that was because we were inspired by the women's team,” which was leading Zambia 3-0 at halftime in Nice on Thursday. “We saw what they could do and we wanted to be part of the fun.”
The scoring continued in the 12th minute of the second half when Griffin Yeo (Clifton, Va.) drove to the goal line immediately after coming on, dropped the ball to Aaronson and fired an angled shot into the far corner.
Jesse Randall scored for New Zealand in the 78th minute, but otherwise it was a good night for the U.S. team and the program as a whole.
“There was a lot of noise about it. [France] “This game is special for us because we're playing against the host team in a packed stadium, like it's the opening event of the Olympics,” Mitrovic said. “We know there will be attention and we made the decision within ourselves to put it aside and move on once the game is over, whatever the result may be.”
NoteBucio was forced to leave the game before halftime after aggravating a hamstring injury. “I don't think it's that serious,” he said. Mitrovic said he would know more about the injury on Sunday.
