01.58 CEST
The negatives would be the lax possession through parts of the first half and some wasteful finishing.
The positives would be everything else.
Thanks for following along today. We’ll have much more over the next month as this tournament evolves.
Updated at 01.58 CEST
01.55 CESTUSA open Copa America with 2-0 win over Bolivia
That seemed routine, in the best possible sense. The USA came out flying and got an early goal. After hitting the doldrums in the first half, they revved it back up again and got a second. In the second half, they simply kept the ball and fired at will – a mix of bad luck, bad finishing and some strong play by Bolivian keeper Viscarra kept it at 2-0.
Updated at 01.55 CEST
01.53 CEST
90 min +2: Replay shows Pepi actually had two chances there. Viscarra makes the save, and it bounces back into Pepi, who can’t direct it past the sprawled keeper.
Now adding injury to insult, Pepi suffers a hard foul. Yellow card and free kick from a wide area.
Updated at 01.53 CEST
01.43 CEST
82 min: Robinson and Scally are both joining the fun from the back line, Scally earns a corner kick. Pulisic sends it over everyone, and it’s cleared.
Now Antonee Robinson is down – probably took a small knock in all of that. Oh – replay shows that he got kicked in the face. Ouch. But he’s back up and ready to go.
Updated at 01.43 CEST
01.41 CEST
81 min: Bad giveaway for the USA, and two Bolivian attackers are bearing down on Richards. All of a sudden, the 2-on-1 becomes a 2-on-8, as Bolivia’s front lines are simply not engaging.
Quickly taken back the other way, and it’s another Pepi shot and a good save, albeit with a dangerous rebound.
Updated at 01.41 CEST
01.40 CEST
79 min: Bolivia finally get into the US third, but not for long.
Free kick, direct play to Pulisic, he fights off a defender and lays it over to Pepi, who lashes a hard shot at the keeper. Maybe that shot could’ve gone a foot or two in either direction and gone in, but that’s better from Pepi.
Updated at 01.40 CEST
01.36 CEST
76 min: Ramiro Vaca is entering the game. I thought he was listed as a starter. In fact, I’m pretty sure he was. But Fernandez is down for Bolivia, so maybe they’re going to change it up. Indeed they are – Fernandez is the one who comes out.
Luca de la Torre is coming in for … someone.
Pulisic seems irritated with the time-wasting, but surely that only hurts Bolivia’s cause.
And it’s not hurting the USA’s rhythm – a quick combination results in a Weah shot just over the bar.
Updated at 01.36 CEST
01.33 CEST
72 min: Pulisic and Pepi combine, but Pepi’s touch is once again a little off.
Ball ends up back in the US half, and Ream plays it up for Weah. His run is cut off, but the US maintain possession still. Bolivia aren’t getting a sniff of anything.
Updated at 01.33 CEST
01.30 CEST
69 min: Another chance for Pulisic, but this one doesn’t get BOLD CAPITALS because it was a bit awkward and bounced high over the bar.
But the bottom line is that the USA are continuing to boss this game, giving Bolivia no chance to get the ball and get back into it.
Updated at 01.30 CEST
01.24 CEST
63 min: Incoherence reigns on the field at the moment.
Fitzhugh Yeatman writes: “New respect for you – regarding Annabeth Gish – you’re the first person who went to Duke who has ever mentioned something about your college without telling everyone you went to Duke! But then I’m biased – Wahoowa!”
(For those who don’t know, that’s a reference to the University of Virginia – which, for my money, can be even snootier than Duke. But I’m teasing my dad’s alma mater. And in fairness, I have often mentioned Duke a lot more than I should. Not like I’d have a chance of getting in today. I think they’d prefer that I not mention I went there. I surely drag down the average alumni income.)
Updated at 01.24 CEST
01.14 CEST
53 min: The ball’s in the net, but this is called offside, pending VAR. Back heel from Weah to McKennie, and McKennie provides a return pass to Weah – who’s a good yard offside. But Weah plays to Balogun, who emphatically thumps the ball into the net, so after the recent misplay, that’s progress.
Updated at 01.14 CEST
01.09 CEST
48 min: Pulisic nearly conjured up one of the finest US highlights in recent memory, calmly taking the ball down the line on the left with defenders draping themselves on him. After shrugging both of them off, he cut in toward the middle and shot, but he drilled it right at a defender.
Back the other way, McKennie slides from behind and gets a yellow card. Free kick, headed away by Ream.
Updated at 01.09 CEST
01.07 CEST
Hey – there’s Musah. And Adams is indeed out.
Bolivia making a bunch of changes. Cuellar, born in the Barcelona area and developed for part of his youth at the Catalan colossus, is in. Terceros, who moved to Brazil as a teenager but remained a Bolivian national, is in. Ramallo, a veteran who spent a brief time in Brazil, is in. Medina is off. So is Justiniano, who had a yellow card.
Updated at 01.07 CEST
00.57 CEST
Joe Pearson notes that the surface looks fine. I saw one moment in which Weah lost his footing, but he was trying a bit too hard to make something happen.
Peter Oh: “I’d like to see the USMNT play Turkiye. Why? To unite their respective right backs Müldür and Scally, thus lighting a fire under the X-Files reboot. The truth is out there.”
I went to college with Annabeth Gish, who was on the show at one time, but I wasn’t cool enough to meet her. Probably still the case.
Updated at 00.57 CEST
00.54 CEST
OK, to the mailbag …
Rick McGahey: “USA is the better side out there in terms of skill and conditioning , but they are slow to the ball and much of their passing is inaccurate. Bolivia back four disciplined and packed back tightly into the box not allowing much room to go through on the ground. Reyna moving all over the field but not in a coherent fashion, attack seems opportunistic without much design.”
And a short time later: “Well, I sent the critical email and they scored. I’ll have to do more of that!”
Updated at 00.54 CEST
00.50 CESTHalftime: USA 2-0 Bolivia
The first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes were every bit as good as anyone could hope from the US team, and they got a goal in each of those spells. In between, things were a tad belabored. Let’s not speak of that.
Pulisic has a superb goal and a fine assist. Balogun has been erratic but dangerous, and his goal was sublime. Reyna is now fully in Bolivia’s heads and has made a couple of their players pick up yellow cards.
Updated at 00.50 CEST
Source link : https://amp.theguardian.com/football/live/2024/jun/23/usa-v-bolivia-copa-america-2024-soccer-live-updates-usmnt
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Publish date : 2024-06-23 03:00:00
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