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After a disastrous 3-0 loss to France to open Team USA’s Paris Olympics, the U.S. men’s national team bounced back with a 4-1 win over New Zealand. The dominant performance in Marseille’s Orange Vélodrome was a true team effort, with the team’s Olympic-first four goals coming from four different goalscorers.
The U.S. opened up the scoring early, with goals from two of the three veteran players on the team. Djordje Mihailovic struck first with a penalty kick in the eighth minute, followed by Walker Zimmerman scoring in the box off a free kick.
The U.S. ran up the score a bit more, adding another goal in the 30th minute from 22-year-old striker Gianluca Busio. Unfortunately, Busio would leave the pitch just seven minutes later with an apparent injury; it is unclear whether he will miss future games as a result.
Forward Paxten Aaronson scored Team USA’s fourth goal of the match, off a beautiful pass from Griffin Yow. The high-scoring game, besides offsetting the 3-0 loss to France, marked the first time the U.S. has ever scored four goals at the Olympics.
New Zealand broke through in the 78th minute with a stunning shot from Jesse Randall, making the score 4-1 and robbing the USMNT of a clean sheet. A few late chances from the U.S. almost brought the score up to five, but to no avail.
Despite the Olympics being primarily an under-23 tournament on the men’s side, Saturday’s win is a big victory for the U.S., not only giving the team three points but also a key advantage in terms of goal differential. The win will likely serve as a confidence booster heading into the end of the group stage.
Notably, Milhailovic’s goal also marked the first goal scored by the United States in the Olympics in 16 years; 2024 marks the first time the USMNT has made the Olympics since the 2008 Games in Beijing. The U.S. finished in the group stage in 2008, but has a solid chance to advance from the group with a win over Guinea on Tuesday.
