Dispatch from France: U.S. men rebound impressively against New Zealand

The U.S. men took a big step toward the Olympic quarterfinals on Saturday by defeating New Zealand 4-1 in Marseille at the Velodrome. After a tough loss to France in the opener, the USA rebounded nicely and put the game out of reach early, with four different goalscorers in the win. This sets up a Group A finale against Guinea where a win, and likely a draw and perhaps a one-goal loss, should be enough to book a spot in the quarterfinals.

U.S. coach Marko Mitrovic elected to use the same starting lineup as the one against France, an indication that he believed his team had enough positives to maintain course, despite the 3-0 loss.

In the end, Mitrovic proved to be right. His team was on the front foot early after a penalty kick for trip on Nathan Harriel was converted by Djordje Mihailovic in the 8^th minute. Then in the 12^th minute, it was Walker Zimmerman who doubled the lead when he bounced on a scramble following a free kick. At the half-hour mark, Gianluca Busio put the game out of reach after he was fed in the middle after a nice attack from the left side by John Tolkin and Kevin Paredes.

Finally in the 58^th minute, the USA made it 4-0 when Griffin Yow, one minute after entering the game, made a move down the left side and fed Paxten Aaronson for a goal off a shot from inside the box.

Despite sloppy defending on a New Zealand goal in the 78^th minute, the U.S. team closed the game out for a 4-1 win. It wasn’t always smooth at the end, but it secured an invaluable three points.

It sets up a group finale for the USA (3 points) against Guinea (0 pts.), which lost to France (6 pts.) by a close 1-0 scoreline after opening with a 2-1 loss to New Zealand (3 pts).

Here are some thoughts on Saturday’s events.

Improved wide play and set pieces

There were two big areas where the U.S. team needed to improve from the loss to France. The first was getting more productivity from wide positions. The second was becoming more dangerous in set pieces. The third was getting Duncan McGuire more involved in the attack.

Overall, the U.S. team succeeded tremendously in getting more out of its wingers and outside backs along with generating more chances from its set pieces. Getting McGuire more involved, however, remains a work in progress.

The wide play in this game was very good. First, the outside backs continued to be solid. Tolkin and Harriel were both good against France and then were even better against New Zealand. Harriel ended up drawing the penalty for the first goal and Tolkin was key to the buildup for the third.

Unlike the first game, the wingers had more of an effective end product. Aaronson scored the final goal and Paredes had an assist on the third. Paredes was far from perfect offensively, but his work rate on both sides of the ball was helpful in the win. Then Yow continues to be among the best American breakout performers over the past year. He is playing with such confidence that he is constantly creating dangerous chances.

Between the outside backs and the wingers, most of the U.S. team’s chances were coming from out wide.

Then there was the issue of set pieces. This U.S. team has many very good targets in the box with Zimmerman, McGuire, Harriel and Miles Robinson. With this many options, the U.S. team needs to constantly be threatening from dead ball deliveries. Against France, it didn’t happen. Against New Zealand, it was a huge reason why the U.S. team put the game away early.

As for McGuire, he has not been involved nearly enough as he could or should be. He doesn’t always need to score to be dangerous, but the U.S. team needs more out of its only No. 9 on the team.

That leaves the question as to whether or not Mitrovic might opt for a “false nine” lineup without McGuire. It still seems unlikely, but McGuire’s lack of involvement has at least opened the door for that possibility.

Uneven second half

The first half was great for the U.S. team. Things were spotty in the second half.

The good news for Mitrovic is that two of his first three substitutions delivered effective performances. Unfortunately for the U.S. team, Busio left the game in the 35^th minute with a hamstring injury. But Jack McGlynn came into the game and, like Busio, was impressive with the ball at his feet. McGlynn’s shooting and passing from distance kept the U.S. team on the front foot. He and Yow were the most dangerous players on the field for the final 33 minutes.

But the U.S. team allowed New Zealand to push forward and carry the run of play the final 30 minutes. It’s not uncommon for a team to let up with a big lead, but the U.S. team was really sloppy. Maximillian Dietz (who hadn’t played much the past three months before this tournament due to an injury) was noticeably rusty. Benja Cremaschi is the youngest player on this team and didn’t do much to end speculation that he would have been better served playing with the U-20 team and allowing Diego Luna to play with this Olympic team.

Also, the USA did not get enough centrally in the attacking third. Central midfielders Tanner Tessmann, Busio, and later McGlynn were all good. But up the field, the ball seemed to then make its way wide for the wingers or advancing outside backs.

Mihailovic had his moments but 19 touches in 56 minutes isn’t constant involvement. It’s fair to question why he wasn’t brought into the earlier camps to gel with the team.

Looking ahead

On Tuesday, the USA will take on Guinea in an enormously important game that will decide whether the team makes it to the quarterfinal. Despite two losses and no points, Guinea can still advance with a big win over the United States and a big France win over New Zealand. On top of that, Guinea enjoyed a decent performance in its loss to France. That could have it playing with more confidence.

The injury to Busio will open the door for Mitrovic to make his first change to the starting lineup. The decision will likely be easy with McGlynn looking ready for the job after his strong shift on Tuesday.

The U.S. team should also be slightly concerned about the way it finished the game against New Zealand. It was too lackadaisical and the goal it conceded at the end was sloppy, with experienced central defenders in Zimmerman and Robinson, who share some of the blame on the goal.

Another concern for the U.S. team on Tuesday is Tessmann after his yellow card he picked up at the end of the first half. Tessmann is not just one of the best players on this team, he is also the most indispensable. Due to release issues, there is no other midfielder on this roster who can play defense like Tessmann. If he picks up another yellow against Guinea and is suspended, the U.S. team would have a huge defensive hole in the midfield in the quarterfinal, should it advance.

But the best news for the U.S. team in this game is that it answered all questions about its mental toughness. When speaking to the media in the days after the France game, the players still showed confidence. Saturday’s win proved that wasn’t just an act. This team was mentally strong enough to not let the France loss affect their approach.

Saturday’s win reflected a team that knows what it can do and is not going to get rattled when hit with a setback. The Americans now enter a game at the Olympics with momentum and a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.

SUBSCRIBE TO KEEP READING

Celebrate Soccer America’s 55th anniversary with 55% off.

USE PROMO CODE: SOCCER55 AT CHECKOUT

Unlock full access to our coverage and newsletters — including Soccer America Daily, Soccer on TV, and 2026 World Cup coverage, for less than half price.

Already have an account? Sign in here.