Olympic Men's Soccer Recap: France's Strong Second Half Downs USA
The U.S. Olympians weren't able to finish off their early chances and the hosts class showed through in the end.
The United States Olympic Men’s National Team first appearance since 2008 got off to a rocky start after falling to hosts France 3-0 in their Group A opener.
The teams played to a scoreless first half before a trio of second half goals from Alexandre Lacazette, Michael Olise, and Loic Bade put the hosts clear and away at the top of the group with New Zealand’s 2-1 win over Guinea putting the Kiwis in second place on goal difference.
The first half — and arguably the first hour — could have belonged to the Americans. Paxton Aaronson forced a smart save from Guillaume Restes (3 saves) in the 38th minute before the U.S. held off a late flurry by Les Bleus before the halftime whistle.
Right after halftime Nathan Harriel nearly found the opener off a Djordje Mihailovic cross only to be denied by Restes. In the 59th minute, Mihailovic rattled the crossbar with a free kick as the U.S. started to build momentum before it all fell apart.
Just a minute later, no one from the U.S. closed down Lacazette who fired a wide angle shot from outside the box that stayed low and found the side netting of Patrick Schulte’s net in the 61st.
Eight minutes later Olise doubled the lead when France recovered a deflected ball on the wing, and Olise found himself with just enough space to place at the top of the box to curl one just inside the far post past a fully extended Schulte. France center back Loic Bade headed home off a corner in the 85th minute for a comprehensive win for the hosts.
Griffin Yow’s consolation goal in stoppage was ruled out for offside after he won a 50/50 ball in the box and slotted home only to see the flag come up for being a half step ahead.
At the end of the day, there were enough positives from the USA in this one. Aaronson was great on the counter, the midfield had a lot of great moments and absorbed a lot of fouls.
The overage centerback duo of Zimmerman and Robinson helped stifle a lot in the first hour though the overall defense late giving up two long-range goals and off a set piece will damped that start.
The USMOT might suffer from lack of a great true striker but can make up for that with their strength out wide. I did think U.S. head coach Marko Mitrovic should have been more aggressive with his subs earlier, perhaps even after the first goal instead of waiting until the 76th minute and being 2-0 down.
The USA continues group play on Saturday July 27th against New Zealand at 1pm EDT from Marseille.