The United States Men’s National Team opened their Olympic campaign with an awful 3-0 loss to the host nation, France. The US had no problems manufacturing chances early in the game, like when Paxton Aaronson put a solid shot on goal, but he was unable to convert, and heading into halftime, it was 0-0. Following the first half, many people thought the United States would have a legitimate shot at pulling out a point against France or picking up the upset victory.
After coming out for the second half, the United States nearly took the lead in the 59th minute when Djordje Mihailovic sent a curler into the top corner, only missing by mere inches, as his shot pinged off the crossbar and out for a goal kick. However, not long after those dreams were quickly dashed, a beautiful outside-of-the-box shot skipped across the field and went into the corner of the net past a diving Patrick Schulte. With that shot, Alexandre Lacazette put the French ahead 1-0 in the 61st minute.
Moments later, Kevin Paredes found the head of Paxton Aaronson on a cross, but he was unable to guide the ball into the net. Then almost immediately, John Tolkin had a great chance to equalize with another beautiful cross by Paredes, but the framework was the worst enemy for the USA once again, as his header off of a cross hit the base of the post and missed.
Following two great chances for the United States, France didn’t look back, and a barrage of goals quickly followed. Michael Olise scored yet another magnificent outside of the box shot, passed Schulte to put France up 2-0, and essentially sealed the deal. In the dying minutes, Bade scored number three for France, and a late Griffin Yow consolation goal was ruled out for offsides.
Highlights and Lowlights
To me, one of the biggest problems for the United States in this game was the three overage players, Djordje Mihailovic, Walker Zimmerman, and Miles Robinson. There were several key moments throughout the game where Diego Luna would have proved to be very useful, but he was not brought to Paris with the team. For Robinson and Zimmerman, on two of the French goals, the inability to step up and defend hurt the United States in a big way. However, that is not to say that some of the blame should not go to Patrick Schulte in between the sticks; he is a solid goalkeeper with the ball at his feet, but he does not do much else quite well.
The injection of Taylor Booth into the game provided a much-needed spark for the United States, and he is a guy that should start the rest of the way. It is also time to make a change in net, as Gaga Slonina should get the nod over Patrick Schulte throughout the rest of the tournament as well. Those are two major changes that the United States should make to improve their fortunes throughout the rest of the tournament in their final two group games against New Zealand and Guinea. It is also a pair of changes that could guide them into the knockout rounds in the process.
Box Score Summary
The box score was pretty close after the game, despite the 3-0 loss for the United States. France held the edge in possession with 52.9% compared to the USA’s 47.1%, which is something that needs to improve the rest of the way. As far as shots and shots on goal are concerned, France had ten attempts, with four of them going on goal, which resulted in three goals. Meanwhile, the United States had nine shot attempts, with three of them going on goal, and zero goals to show for it. The biggest discrepancy was the corner kicks, with France having eight and the US only having two.
What’s Next
With an all-important second group stage matchup against New Zealand coming up in a couple days, the United States will need to regroup and find a way to get a victory if they want to keep their hopes alive of winning a medal in this Olympics. It is basically a must-win game for the United States at this point, following the New Zealand victory over Guinea in their first game. Combining that with the loss to France, it’ll be important for the United States to come away with three points following the second round of group stage matchups.
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