With a convincing 2-0 Group C victory over Bolivia on Sunday, the United States kicked off their Copa America campaign with a goal and an assist from Christian Pulisic.
In the same group, Uruguay defeated a resolute Panama 3-1 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, with Darwin Nunez going on strike. Uruguay is the 15-time Copa winners.
At the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, US captain Pulisic first scored a fantastic goal and then set up attacker Folarin Balogun for a second shortly before halftime.
That two-goal burst was sufficient to give US coach Gregg Berhalter’s team a crucial three points.
After the game, Pulisic said, “We came out flying with a lot of intensity.” “Obviously an early goal helped us a lot, but all around a pretty dominant performance.”
In the nine previous Copa America editions before 1999, Bolivia has only won one game. Berhalter had cautioned his players against becoming complacent.
After just three minutes, Pulisic gave the home team the lead, making it evident that he was not in the mood to let the South Americans to break that record of futility.
After receiving the ball from a left corner, the captain of the United States quickly moved to the area’s perimeter and fired a rasping shot towards the goal.
Despite trying to stop it, Bolivian goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra was unable to stop the ball from soaring into the net’s roof.
Despite that early lead, the US found it difficult to turn their superior possession into opportunities and were thwarted by a belligerent Bolivian team that saw three players sent off in the first thirty-one minutes.
Bolivia had an unruly start, as Italian referee Maurizio Mariani issued yellow cards to Leonel Justiniano, Gabriel Villamil, and Luis Haquin.
In the 44th minute, the United States doubled their lead, with Pulisic playing a major role once more.
After the AC Milan forward picked up the ball close to midway, he raced toward the Bolivian penalty area and squared to Balogun, who first touched the ball to draw defender Jesus Sagredo wide before putting a low effort into the bottom corner.
After the resumption, Bolivia was still having issues with the US forward line’s greater mobility.
In the 50th minute, Balogun narrowly missed a toe on a low shot by Tim Weah. A few moments later, the ball went in the net, but it was called just slightly offside.
Then, in the 60th minute, Pulisic weaved into the penalty area and fired a fierce shot that produced a nice stop from Viscarra.
Replace Shortly after replacing Gio Reyna in the 65th minute, Ricardo Pepi had a chance to make it 3-0, but his attempt from an Antonee Robinson cross went wide.
In the ninetieth minute, Viscarra made a last-ditch double save to deny Pepi a goal.
Uruguay, headed by Marcelo Beilsa, got off to a classic start, overwhelming their opponents and applying constant pressure, making it difficult for the Panamanians to keep up.
In the sixteenth minute, Maximiliano Araujo gave Uruguay the lead with a skillfully placed left-footed shot into the upper right corner.
Orlando Mosquera, the goalkeeper for Panama, had to be at the top of his game to handle the barrage of attempts. He parried a fierce shot from Nunez and made an incredible save to save Giorgian de Arrascaeta’s angled header.
In the 29th minute, Mosquera’s quick reflexes again paid off as he saved Nunez at close range after the Liverpool attacker made a good connection with Federico Valverde’s low cross.
After the interval, though, things were considerably different, with Panama enjoying some consistent pressure and Uruguay appearing a little worn out.
However, Nunez extended the advantage for Bielsa’s team in the 85th minute, using his incredible technique to volley home a half-clearance from within the area, giving them some breathing room.
The match was ended by Matias Vina’s well-timed header from a Nicolas de la Cruz free kick, but Michael Amir Murillo gave Panama some hope in the closing minutes by capping a quick break.
