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The U.S. National Team opened the Paris Olympics with a heartbreaking 3-0 loss to France before bouncing back to beat New Zealand 4-1. Their dominant performance at the Orange Velodrome in Marseille was a true team effort, with the team’s first Olympic goals coming from four different scorers.
The U.S. took an early lead with goals from two of the team’s three veterans: Djordje Mihajlovic opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the eighth minute, followed by Walker Zimmerman scoring from a free kick inside the box.
The Americans continued to add to their lead, scoring another goal in the 30th minute through 22-year-old striker Gianluca Busio. Unfortunately, Busio left the pitch seven minutes later with an apparent injury, and it is unclear whether he will be sidelined for future matches.
Forward Paxton Aaronson scored Team USA’s fourth goal of the game off a beautiful pass from Griffin Yeo. This high-scoring game not only made up for a 3-0 loss to France, but also marked the first time the USA had ever scored four goals in an Olympic game.
New Zealand broke through in the 78th minute with a beautiful shot from Jesse Randall to make it 4-1 and deny the U.S. a clean sheet. The U.S. had several chances in the closing stages that came close to making it five, but to no avail.
Despite the Olympics being primarily an under-23 tournament for the men, Saturday’s win was a big one for the U.S., not only giving the team three points but also a big advantage in points differential, which will provide a confidence boost heading into the final stages of the group stage.
Notably, Miljailovic’s goal was the first for the United States to score at an Olympic Games in 16 years. 2024 will mark the first time the U.S. national team will compete in the Olympics since the 2008 tournament in Beijing. The U.S. was eliminated in the group stage in that tournament, but has a good chance to advance with a win against Guinea on Tuesday.
