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Pulisic, Zardes score for USMNT in rout of Bolivia

Photo by Gary Rohman/MLS/USA TODAY Sports
Photo by Gary Rohman/MLS/USA TODAY Sports

Veterans Gyasi Zardes and Alejandro Bedoya starred for the U.S. Men’s National Team on Saturday night, but it was a 17-year-old newcomer that stole the show in the USMNT’s final pre-Copa America friendly.

Christian Pulisic netted his first USMNT goal on Saturday night to help the USMNT cruise past Bolivia, 4-0, at Children’s Mercy Park. The Borussia Dortmund star was joined on the scoresheet by Brooks and Zardes, with the latter bagging a brace on the evening.

Pulisic provided the USMNT’s fourth goal of the night in the 69th minute to become the youngest goalscorer of the modern era. The 17-year-old playmaker combined with Darlington Nagbe, who joined the fray alongside Pulisic early in the second half. After working a give-and-go on the outside of the box, Nagbe whisked past several defenders before sending a pass to Pulisic, who rifled a shot past a helpless Viscarra.

Largely the dominant side throughout the first half, the USMNT got on the board in the 26th minute through Zardes.

While the LA Galaxy forward provided the finish, it was Alejandro Bedoya who created the chance. The Nantes star lifted a ball up and over the Bolivia defense and into the path of Zardes, who flicked a shot past Bolivia goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra for the opener.

Just 11 minutes later, the USMNT doubled their advantage, with Bedoya once again notching the assist.

A quick Michael Bradley free kick found a darting Bedoya on the right side of the box. Bedoya responded by sliding a pass into the center of the box, finding Brooks for a simple tap in to the open net for a 2-0 lead.

Zardes added his second and the USMNT’s third goal seven minutes into the second stanza, which began with the additions of likely starting fullbacks DeAndre Yedlin and Fabian Johnson. On the third, it was Bobby Wood who provided the assist, sliding a pass across the box to provide Zardes with a simple finish inside the six-yard box.

Pulisic’s finish followed in the 69th minute, capping an ideal performance for the USMNT ahead of the team’s Copa America opener against Colombia on June 3.

Comments

  1. Good win last night against lesser competition but the point was to feel out some things, establish a flow and gain confidence headino into Friday. Some solid performances all around and I think the player that helped himself the most was Zardes. 2 goals can do a lot for confidence and he out himself in great positions to make things happen. He still struggles with controlling the ball around the box(evidenced by that missed opportunity for a third goal on the layoff) but his overall play will serve him well for Colombia. I agree with Stu Holden from last night that the midfield and forward parings that started the game will be the starters vs Colombia. No matter how much we believe Nagbe should be starting(he should by the way) JK has shown over the years that a player just coming into the team, no matter the skill level, will have to earn his stripes. Defensively we’ll see a back 4 of Yedlin – Cameron – Brooks – FabJo and honestly its not a bad starting setup as long as we can put passes together like we have the last 2 matches and are able to pressure the ball and make things uncomfortable for the opposition.

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  2. While the 2nd Half against Ecuador and the match last night against Bolivia were very good (Aggressive attack, Intricate passing, controlling tempo, good finishing) we still need to see this when it counts most….during games that actually matter. That being said we are finally seeing some of the young players stepping up their game to the point they are putting real pressure on the “Old Guard”. If Nagbe, Pulisic, & Wood keep this going we will finally see the end of the Beckerman & Wondo inclusions.
    Hopefully we’ll get a few more young players to emerge over the next year to continue the teams transformation. Players like Hyndman, Gyau, Agudelo, Rubin, etc…. would do well with the controlled attacking style we’ve seen in these last couple games.
    We still need defensive reinforcements/depth for outside back, but hopefully Villafana & Shea can step up and fill the backup role at LB….and someone besides Chandler can emerge as a viable RB option.
    Jones, Dempsey, & Jozy still have major roles to play with this team/squad….their leadership and experience will continue to be important, but the concept of them being Guaranteed starters and/or 90 minute players is coming to an end. Fully expect this to happen after the conclusion of the Copa.

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    • I’m over Agudelo, is he better than he was five years ago. I know he’s only 23, but he hasn’t progressed much.

      Shea and Villafana are both 26, yes they need to be considered through Russia 2018, but I don’t see either as an option much beyond that.

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  3. Perfect warm-up series. I could sing the praises of multiple players but most of all confidence and good form is abound in this group. I think Jurgen got the 23 right this time and there is some wonderful competition to get into the 11. New guys or new roles just killing it and vets elevating their game to match. Now Colombia warms up in Miami vs Haiti – I am liking our chances at this matchup!

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  4. Still not convinced.
    And before anyone says, “You don’t have to be.” “They just don’t play for you.” “Since when are you the coach?” “Could you do better?” “We won 4-0!” “You must be a Jozy fan…” “You must hate Zardes…” I know, but I’m still not convinced.
    Celebrating this win is the same as being happy you got a participation medal. Gulati should’ve worked harder to get us a higher caliber opponent. I’m sure Argentina would’ve preferred to play us in stead of Honduras.

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    • The purpose of friendlies isn’t to play the best competition, and no I think Argentina was plenty happy to play Honduras. We played Ecuador who is pretty good, first in Conmebol qualifying after all and beat Argentina 2-0 in Buenos Aires. This game was scheduled to help the US build confidence and to boost enthusiasm with the casual fan.

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    • List the striker depth chart….

      Clint
      Wood/jozy
      Zardes
      Wondo
      Morris

      All this means is wood is likely to move out to wing while Clint is still around. Once Clint is done. Jozy will step in.

      Pick 3 out of Clint wood jozy and zardes and there’s your front 3. Pulisic as sub fighting zardes for that spot

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      • I thought Clint is done. He looks like he is running on fumes. His best move is pretending to be fouled.

    • Nope, his spot would be Dempsey’s and I don’t think we’ve seen much from Clint to rule out Jozy. Sorry Jozy haters. He might have to be scoring goals though.

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  5. I like Zusi Clint and Bedoya starting against columbia. Christian Wood and Bedoya (or Zardes) for the other 2 group games

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      • I thought Bedoya and Zardes played well. If you think we are going to go hard v. Colombia then think again. it will be bunker counter all night long and for good reason. What is our trump over them? They are a marriage of athleticism, technical skill , flair and understanding that we simply cannot match directly. The other two we can play like second half v. Ecuador.

    • Someone should notify him Europe is across the Atlantic.

      I only mention this because he was last seen traveling through half of Bolivia’s population to lay off the ball for Christian Pulisic’s first goal.

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    • Someone said there were a UCL finalist team’s scouts (which one? I don’t know) present at the match tonight.

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  6. I’d love to see them get one more game in before Colombia with everyone available, but with that being said my observations going into Copa:
    1- The 4-3-3 is long overdue.
    – Everyone would love to see FabJo on the wing, but he fits in the 4-3-3, outside backs contribute a LOT more wide
    – For this to be optimal, Deuce has to play as a false 9 with the 2 outside forwards (Wood, Zardes, Pulisic) pressing higher… NOT the other games with Zusi/Bedoya. That basically turns it into a 4-5-1 & the 9 has to stretch the line.. Not Dempsey’s strength, & nobody else has ever done it vs. any quality competition (Just because we won these 3 warm-ups..Tourney intensity goes up 10,000%)
    – Everyone is praying JK will leave MB as the 6.. but he keeps talking about Beckerman’s quality if we face a TRUE NO. 10 (Like James).. EFFF That… That may be ok if Nagbe & Bedoya hadn’t upped their game so much the last year. But now you’ve got other options..MB cant be slower than KB..and he’s a better player all around – KB’s ship has sailed
    2 – Everyone who is writing off Jermaine Jones should check into an Asylum.. That dude has one motor – HyperDrive – This will be a nasty dirty tourney, he has not slowed down at all, he’s the most vocal leader on the field..
    (And by the way ABBY Wahwah., did you see Jermaine Jones sprint 40 yards with a huge smile on his face to congratulate Pulisic on his 1st goal??? )
    3- Which leads to my next point- Nagbe.. If Jones werent still playing well, I could see Bedoya starting – but for this midfield to work best, MB at the 6, 1 technical guy, 1 hustle guy
    4- Play the young-uns, but dont write them off when they arent perfect
    And the flipside to that is – Dont write off Deuce yet. Until someone shows they can score goals in an International game that matters… Deuce belongs..period.
    5- Pray Yedlin stays healthy, doesnt get cards, and can go 90 the entire tourney.. Pray…
    (And if he does, move FabJo to the right & go w/ Castillo or even Besler on the left)
    6 – Pray the same for Cameron. Birnbaum may have a bright future, but not only is Cam a lot better, he compliments Brooks better.. faster, more vocal & experienced.. all in all, Cameron makes Brooks a better player (The same way Alvarado made him a worse player)
    *And lastly.. Im assuming we can expect a different starting lineup every game.. A lot of games in the heat w/ short turnaround & a lot of travel..
    With 0% of the fans agreeing with JK’s starting lineups.. in almost every game that has mattered he’s gotten his subs right..
    My guess we get out of the group with 5 or 6 points

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  7. Bedoya is good. Not great, but solid. Zardes… man scored 2 goals, both on his first touch. If he had to control those instead of shooting directly, no way he scores.

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      • no. Are you saying that MLS speed is equivalent to the international speed? See, its easy to have a good first touch in a beer league… a bit harder in MLS… and the hardest at the international level, which I am sure you understand. So why exactly does Zardes’ MLS performance have to translate to the national team? I have a dogshit bet on that topic with Wondolowski.

  8. Zardes and Bedoya both forgot that they aren’t supposed to be any good. Nice to see a dominant performance. Yes, Bolivia was weak, as I predicted, but the US played very well. They made some bad giveaways in the first 10 or 15 minutes, but after that the passing was solid and the players found open spaces. If more goals were important, we could have easily had 6.

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  9. Good tuneup game. Back four of FJ Brooks GC yedlin is solid (2 epl, 2 1.Bunds)

    3 mids to pick out of Bradley, nagbe, bedoya, jones (odd man out would be 1st or second sub according to flow)

    3 fwds to pick from wood zardes Clint Pulisic (odd man out again is 1st or second sub according to context)

    Guzan, or Timmy: at this moment, flip a coin. Seems jk already did and Guzan won this tourney.

    Boom. There’s the roster. No debate (lol).

    Wondo, zusi, besler Castillo (plus aforementioned odd men out) make up the bench. Hmmmm maybe I can find a way to get beckerman in the bench… No Castillo? Leaving besler the only backup for FJ? Hmmmm could be harder than I thought lol

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    • After much (deserved) criticism since WC 2014, I think JK had a good game. Tactics and subs were logical. Except maybe Wondo – but I guess if you bring him, you gotta give him minutes.

      I’ve always rooted for JA, but the way the kids are playing I can now clearly see a post-Jozy world.

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      • Re:JA, the thing is he can perfect reflect clints phasing out. Jozy coming back from injury can sub in for Clint in 55′-70′. Then eventually flip it. Jozy starts and Clint subs him off ( perhaps even still by2018). Outside you have wood on one side, then zardes/Pulisic/gyau/etc. with Morris growing into Jozy’s backup as Clint leaves.

        That leaves the midfield to be more central box to box players jk keeps interest in (morales, kitchen, Williams, hyndman, etc) to add to the ones in the mix, creative, possession based mids (nagbe, Bradley, bedoya, etc)

      • I think it’s just as likely JA is on the outside looking in from here on out. Especially of he is trash when he comes back.

  10. “Pulisic, Zardes score for USMNT in rout of Bolivia”

    No Altidore gives other players the opportunity to ACTUALLY score goals,
    No Altidore makes the USMNT attack seem streamlined, better, sharper.
    No Altidore and we see strikers hustle and make quality runs in and around the box
    No Altidore and the USMNT gets the largest win against a South America opponent…ever

    (Thank goodness no Altidore)

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  11. Nice to win big though Iit’s hard to believe that this was the best Bolivia could field? They just seemed very weak.

    My biggest impression is with Pulisic. That kid is the real deal and Im more excited about him than anybody Ive seen in a USA jersey in a long time. He needs to start from now on out. Two nice goals from Zardes though Im still not impressed with his overall game

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    • It should be also noted that Pulisic’s goal came off Darlington Nagbe taking on over half the Bolivian team. Yes, according to the replay he literally took on and beat 6 players to set up the goal.

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      • I hate to be that guy but Bobby Wood, Fabian Johnson and Jermaine Jones pesky defense on that corner is what got that key turnover and the goal. Nagbe just came right at the end for the assist but the whole build up was led by those 3

      • No doubt that defensive effort to create the turnover shouldn’t be overlooked, but “came right at the end” is simply not accurate and does not negate Nagbe slicing through their entire defense.

      • Bigger than Austria(11), Portugal(8), Wales (24), Switzerland (14), Sweden(36), Bosnia-H.(20),Iceland(35), Czech Republic (29), Hungary (18), Albania (45), Northern Ireland (26) all who have qualified for Euro 2016 and only 400,000 under #2 in the world Belgium.

        Its also bigger than Jamaica, Costa Rica, and TnT combined also smaller than Panama, all four are rated above them.

        Over a billion people smaller than India and China, but rated above both. Population doesn’t mean much when it comes to soccer sorry.

        Their ELO ranking is 55th, but I would say they looked much more like a 79 tonight.

    • I believe they had some travel issues getting all 23 into KC, but truthfully they are pretty bad when not playing at 12,000 feet.

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