\u201cBrutal\u201d was the word used by Walker Zimmerman to sum up USA’s loss to France in their Olympic Games opener. The Americans stood toe-to-toe with Les Bleus for large stages of that match but the host nation\u2019s killer instinct proved decisive as they ran out 3-0 winners, scoring all their goals in the final half-hour.<\/p>\n
Less than 72 hours after that disappointment, USA returned to Stade de Marseille in the knowledge defeat to New Zealand would likely see their Paris 2024 dreams dashed devastatingly early. They duly delivered an exceptional team performance to sweep aside the Kiwis 4-1 and record their biggest-ever Olympic victory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’ve always described this group of players as \u2018fearless\u2019,\u201d said Zimmerman, who at 31 is one of USA\u2019s three overage players. \u201cYouth brings fearlessness \u2013 and that can create bold moments on the field. You saw that against New Zealand. The coach, Marko [Mitrovic] does a great job in setting the tone. He gives us confidence. Even after the game against France, he said, \u2018Look what we created, look at how we broke them down \u2013 you guys competed with the best and you\u2019re on the right path\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mitrovic added: \u201cThere was a lot of noise about that first game. There was a sold-out stadium, it was almost like the opening event of the Olympic Games. We knew we would be under the spotlight. We said between us, \u2018No matter what the outcome is, once it\u2019s done, we put it on the side and move forward’. It\u2019s about being relentless. If you miss an opportunity, you go again and again.\u201d<\/p>\n
USA exploded out of the blocks against New Zealand, applying sustained pressure from the first whistle. They were in front within eight minutes through a Djordje Mihailovic penalty and Zimmerman swiftly made it 2-0. There was no let up and midfield dynamo Gianluca Busio ensured they were 3-0 ahead going into half-time, before Paxten Aaronson got their fourth after the interval.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe came out with the mindset that this was a final,\u201d said Busio. \u201cWe knew this was big for us. The coach made sure we kept our confidence after France \u2013 and I think we showed we weren\u2019t too hung up on it!<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe we can go far. That belief is something that won\u2019t ever be hurt in this group. We\u2019re Americans, and we\u2019re proud to be here at one of the biggest events in the world. Americans are known for winning medals \u2013 and when we come to a tournament, then we\u2019re always playing to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Busio was forced off with a hamstring problem but says he is hopeful it is not too serious, with USA set to face Guinea in their final Group A game on Tuesday. The Stars and Stripes go into the match firmly in contention for a knockout-phase spot.<\/p>\n
Mihailovic, whose emphatic penalty set USA on their way to victory, said: \u201cThe job is far from done. Guinea have quality and we can\u2019t overlook that \u2013 we have to roll our sleeves up and get to work. Of course, getting to the knockouts would be big, but we don\u2019t come into a major tournament thinking, \u2018Oh let\u2019s make it to the quarter-finals\u2019. No, we\u2019ve come here for a medal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, who could do nothing about a stunning late consolation from New Zealand substitute Jesse Randall, concluded: \u201cWe needed to have a response to the France game, and we did that. We could have had even more goals, but we\u2019ll take four. There\u2019s a lot of belief. We know if we take our chances \u2013 and stay locked in for the full 90 minutes \u2013 then we can make some noise in this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cBrutal\u201d was the word used by Walker Zimmerman to sum up USA’s loss to France in their Olympic Games opener. The Americans stood toe-to-toe with Les Bleus for large stages of that match but the host nation\u2019s killer instinct proved decisive as they ran out 3-0 winners, scoring all their goals in the final half-hour. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":1009321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20966],"tags":[9648,27192],"class_list":["post-1009320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fifa-news","tag-fifa","tag-fifa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1009320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1009321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1009320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1009320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/91varzeshi.ir\/portal\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1009320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}