For the first time in 24 years, the United States is in the knockout rounds of Olympic men’s soccer. The last time the U.S. men were in the tournament was 2008 and the last time they advanced was at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, losing to Chile in the bronze medal match.
On Tuesday, the U.S. took care of business against Guinea in its final group match, scoring two goals in the opening half-hour to take control over the pivotal clash. Colorado Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailovic opened the scoring with an inch-perfect free kick into the upper corner, while VfL Wolfsburg winger Kevin Paredes finished an ambitious run beyond the defensive line with a well-placed shot just inside the box.
Entering Tuesday’s finale, the U.S. knew they’d need to match or exceed New Zealand’s result to advance from Group A into the quarterfinal. The early goals kept Team USA in control of its destiny, although group leader France did them a favor by scoring three goals against New Zealand in its 3-0 win.
Despite losing to France in the opening match, the following pair of wins was enough to see the United States finish second in Group A behind the hosts. They’ll face Morocco in the opening match of the quarterfinals on Friday, August 2 at 9:00 am Eastern at Parc des Princes, home of Paris Saint-Germain. Morocco won Group A in dramatic fashion, only confirming victory in its opening match against Argentina after an hours-long VAR review ruled out a potential Argentine equalizer. They lost their second match against Ukraine, before a 3-0 win over Iraq gave them custody of Group B thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker with Argentina.
Throughout the group stage, U.S. head coach Marko Mitrovic’s side was content to cede possession and prioritize maintaining a strong defensive shape. This largely catered to the roster’s strengths — from veteran center back partners FC Cincinnati’s Miles Robinson and Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman to a full back tandem New York Red Bulls’ John Tolkin and Philadelphia Union’s Nathan Harriel — that isn’t often asked to play roles relying on possession-based soccer with their MLS clubs.
Mitrovic doubled down on that emphasis with his lineup on Tuesday. Injured deep-lying playmaker Gianluca Busio was missing after appearing to aggravate a previous right hamstring injury against New Zealand. He was replaced in the midfield by defensive-minded Maximilian Dietz. Mitrovic also opted to remove hold-up striker Duncan McGuire and include Griffin Yow. Yow offered greater pace in exchange for less strength, fitting in to a game plan that looked to capitalize on fast breaks rather than winning headers to sustain possession.
Team USA doubled down on its commitment to defending in the second half, with the possession share dropping from 40.8 per cent to 35.8 per cent after the break. They withstood pressure from Guinea and limited the National Elephants to taking its first four shots of the second half in non-dangerous areas. The patience paid off, as Paredes capped a rare venture up the pitch with a second impressive strike from his left foot in the upper-right corner of Guinea’s box.
¡DOBLETE DE KEVIN PAREDES! ⚽️⚽️
Espectacular remate dentro del área y marca su segundo en el encuentro 👊
📺 Peacock ➡️ https://t.co/VaqAtvA4FM
📱 Telemundo APP ➡️ https://t.co/QnXv7dz5ny#OlimpicosTelemundo #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/1UaHoSlVhv— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) July 30, 2024
Across all three games, the United States leaned heavily on Mihailovic and Paredes to take care of business in the final third. The tandem combined to create 13 of the team’s 34 chances, while scoring four of their seven goals. Both players were substituted out in the second half to ensure optimal fitness for the quarterfinal. The U.S. will also closely monitor Busio’s fitness, as the midfield sorely missed his spark and decisive distribution against Guinea.
Overall, the United States can take pride in what’s been a composed and coherent group stage. Only two teams (France and Paraguay) averaged more chances created per game than their 11.3), while their 1.9 expected goals per game narrowly edged out Spain for the highest average in the 16-team field. The defenders are doing their part, too: only three teams are winning a greater share of duels than Team USA’s rate of 54.5 per cent.
Mitrovic has the team playing quintessential tournament soccer: defend well, and don’t be wasteful when attacking opportunities present themselves.
The 18-man roster that qualified for the knockouts looks very different to the players selected for the U.S. men’s national team at the recent Copa America, with players such as Christian Pulisic, Gio Reyna and Weston McKennie not featuring in France.
This is for two reasons. First, men’s Olympic soccer is restricted to players under the age of 23, with an allowance for three overage players. Defenders Zimmerman and Miles Robinson, and midfielder Mihailovic, were selected for the overage spots at the Paris Games.
GO DEEPER
Why isn’t Christian Pulisic playing for the U.S. men’s soccer team at the Olympics?
This also means that the three overaged players are the only members of the team to have been alive the last time the U.S. men made a quarterfinal at the Olympics. Now they are all part of the history.
This United States group will also be familiar with its quarterfinal opponent, Morocco, whose senior team advanced to the semifinal of the 2022 World Cup. Their under-23 teams faced off in November of 2023 at a neutral site in Spain, with Morocco enjoying a 1-0 victory. Many players from the current United States roster took part in that friendly. Among the Olympians who weren’t on the field in that defeat are goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, Paredes, and the aforementioned over-age trio.
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(Top photo: John Todd, Getty Images)