Jun 23, 2024, 8:50 p.m. ET
Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in the first moments of the match with a great goal from the corner and later dominated the game.
Arlington (USA).- International Christian Pulisic, ‘captain America’, led the United States in the 2-0 victory against Bolívia, at the beginning of the road for both teams in the Copa América 2024.
Pulisic, from the Italian Milan, opened the scoring in the 3rd minute of the match, also scoring what is so far the fastest goal of the tournament, and also assisted Folarin Balogun to score the second in the 44th minute of the match played in the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Stars and Stripes team made the home team feel from the first seconds of the match and three minutes were enough for their captain, assisted by Tim Weah, to score the first, with a shot to the right side that brushed the hand of the Bolivian goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.
The host’s excitement for the opening lasted a few more minutes, in which the Bolivian goalkeeper was a little more in demand than the American Matt Turner, although the game soon lost intensity.
Those led by Brazilian Antonio Carlos Zago had a hard time retaining and stealing the balls and almost did not get close to the American goal.
Balogun had at least two opportunities to score, first in the 36th minute, but couldn’t reach a cross from Weah and two minutes later, when he tried a shot soft enough for the attempt to die in the hands of the Green goalkeeper.
The Ligue 1 Monaco striker was able to score in the 44th minute thanks to an accurate pass from Pulisic.
The first and almost only attempt in the entire game for La Verde was a long-distance shot that Roberto Carlos Fernández tried unsuccessfully in the 50th minute.
In less than ten minutes, Bolivia was saved from suffering the third goal against, first in a cross taken advantage of by Balogun, but which was disallowed due to an offside position.
The other save was in the 60th minute, when Viscarra won a duel with Pulisic by clearing his shot.
The local attacks did not stop from then on, although they lacked a little luck and precision to extend the score.
Like in the 56th minute, when Antonee Robinson made a pass that the recently introduced Ricardo Pepi, forward of the Dutch PSV Eindhoven, could not reach.
Viscarra was the protagonist in the Green ranks by clearing the attacks of Pulisic and Pepi, who had a last attempt stopped by the Bolivian goalkeeper at the end of the match.
On the second date, the United States will face Panama in Atlanta and Bolivia will face Uruguay in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
EFE
