After a dominant 4-1 win over New Zealand on Saturday, U.S. Men’s Soccer took on Guinea on Tuesday for a chance to qualify for the knockout stage of the Olympic Games for the first time since 2000.
With another top performance, the Americans will see themselves in the knockout stage for the first time in 24 years. They finished second in Group B behind France and will take on Morocco this Friday.
Here is how the match against Guinea went down:
USA vs Guinea: Olympic Soccer recap
Just over a minute in, Guinea nearly conceded instantly. Griffin Yow took advantage of a giveaway, but his shot was saved and the Americans couldn’t convert on an early corner kick.
In the 14′, Djordje Mihailovic gave the Americans the lead. Yow drew the chance for a free kick and Mihailovic took full advantage with a brilliant goalazo, his second of the tournament.
The Americans continued to hound Guinea with scoring opportunities following Miahailovic’s goal. The Americans had seven shot attempts with five on-target within the first 30 minutes.
In the 31′, VfL Wolfsburg player Kevin Paredes doubled the lead. Paxten Aaronson found Paredes storming down the side of the pitch, sent him a through ball, and Paredes converted on a perfect scoring opportunity. Yow nearly tripled the lead shortly after Paredes’ goal but hit the post.
The first 45 minutes ended with everything the Americans would’ve hoped for. Despite not controlling possession (40.8% compared to Guinea’s 59.2%), the Americans found the back of the net twice on 10 shot attempts with seven being on target.
In the 52′, Philadelphia Union midfielder Jack McGlynn was subbed on to replace Djordje Mihailovic and Josh Atencio replaced Maximilian Dietz. Philadelphia Union right-back Nathan Harriel nearly found the back of the net in the 60′. A scoring opportunity from a McGlynn cross, Harriel’s header was going towards the top left corner but was saved. Again in the 60′, another cross from McGlynn found Harriel but the attempt was too high.
Paredes scored a brace in the 75′ to triple the lead and seal the deal for a birth in the knockout stage. A beautiful pass from McGlynn found Paredes in the box, and the VfL Wolfsburg player created space to bury his second goal of the match.
After scoring his brace, Paredes would be subbed off for Caleb Wiley to avoid the possibility of receiving a yellow card and missing Friday’s match against Morocco.
Guinea made a late surge in the six added minutes of stoppage time, but Partick Schulte kept his clean sheet and the Americans marched onto the knockout stage. Both the men and women will continue their journey at the Paris Olympic Games.
Group A Final Standings:
France: 9 points, +7 goal difference
United States: 6 points, +3 goal difference
New Zealand: 3 points, -5 goal difference
Guinea: 0 points, – 5 goal difference
Up Next
The Americans will face Morocco on Friday in the knockout stage.
AP Photo/Julio Cortez
