Team USA’s return to Olympic men’s soccer began in disappointment as they dropped their opening group stage match 3-0 to France in Marseille on Wednesday. Two goals from outside the box via Alexandre Lacazette and Michael Olise were enough to push Thierry Henry’s squad to victory. Loic Bade also added a goal in the 85th minute to put the match out of sight.
It was a composed performance from the United States early on but this is a match where the talent gap between the United States and other nations shows. With New Zealand also winning their opening match, there is more pressure on Marko Mitrovic as the United States will likely need to win out in Group A in order to make the knockout stage of the Olympics.
It’s a match where the score doesn’t tell the full story as for 60 minutes of the match, the United States were composed and creating chances but eventually, France’s talent won out. They could’ve done better on closing Lacazette down on his opening goal but when it came to Olise’s, there was nothing that could be done about it.
Getting a point off of France was always going to be a tough proposition for this team but it’s the New Zealand victory that throws off the group. The United States will only be able to control what they can control which is why victory is needed on Saturday. There may be changes to the lineup such as the inclusion of Griffin Yow who did have the ball in the back of the net, but it was judged to be offside late in the match. His skill in striking the ball could be needed against New Zealand, but for the most part, if Mitrovic’s men can continue off the positives in this one, getting out of the group is possible.
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