Olympic Hope: USMNT Beat New Zealand!

MARSEILLE, France – With their backs up against the wall, America’s Under-23 Olympics soccer team came out with a sail full of Mediterranean Sea wind and easily blew past New Zealand in a must-win match. With their convincing 4 -1 victory, the Yanks catapulted from last place to second in their table. In doing so, they are now on the edge of going into next week’s knockout round.

They will conclude Group A play when they face New Guinea on Tuesday, July 30 at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne. They just need to defeat hapless Guinea to advance to the knockout stage.

Minutes into the critical game, Colorado Rapids midfielder Djordje Mihailović scored on a handsome penalty kick. His blistering shot put the Stars and Stripes up 1-0. Mihailović’s goal was the U.S. Men’s first at the Olympics since August 13, 2008.

In the 8th minute of play, right back Nathan Harriel pushed forward on a U.S. set piece and was tripped up inside the penalty area.

The referee blew his whistle loud and clear, then pointed to the white spot. Despite the oppressive heat and humidity, cool-kid Mihailović blasted the ball into the back of the net. He then raced to the sideline and looked up to find his parents, spouse, and newborn.

Colorado Rapids head coach Chris Armas could take note and designate the 25-year-old Mihailović as his go-to penalty kicker for the balance of this season. 

The next over-age player to score was defender Walker Zimmerman. Mihailović drilled a service ball from the right side of the pitch. The swift-moving missile ricocheted off of bodies until Zimmerman poked the ball across the goal line.

“It’s kind of do-or-die time,” defender Walker Zimmerman told a handful of international reporters. “We knew it would come down to the start that we would have, and to get an early goal just was huge. Kind of gave us the confidence to really get into the tournament.” 

Gianluca Busio scored in the 30th minute, and the late substitute Paxten Aaronson scored in the 58th by nutmegging the defender marking him.

Then the effusive celebration started. You would have thought the lads had won an Olympic medal. Good for them.

Post-match, head coach Marko Mitrović said, “I think the game against France was a game of inches. Today we were good with the first two opportunities we had.” Mitrović added, “When you get in the game with 2-0 at the very beginning, obviously it’s a much easier game. We never spoke about we have to win, we have to tie. We want to maximize every day and we want to maximize every game.” 

The Serbian-American did re-work his starting lineup, and the realignment was a success.

“We need to forget about this game as quickly as we can, just like we did against France,” he said. “We go from a pretty big low to now a pretty big high. We have to keep our minds in a steady state. Recover emotionally and physically.”

A relieved Mihailović then joined the press conference. He shared his perspectives, “We never spoke about how we have to win, we have to tie. We want to maximize every day and we want to maximize every game. Today we spoke before the game that every second on the field matters, that every action matters.”

He elaborated, “And what we have to do is go and execute all those seconds and actions on the field, and let’s see where that’s going to take us.” 

Since the group stage was introduced in Rome in 1960, the U.S. has earned a win in six of eight appearances, including all five participations since the Under-23 restriction began.

The Olympic tournament features 16 teams drawn into four groups of four. The top two finishers in each quartet following a week-long round-robin move on to the August 2 quarterfinals. 

Next up, the FIFA’s 5th ranked USWNT against 4th ranked Germany. These strong Olympians will face off tomorrow at 1 p.m. MT. The U.S. and Germany enter the match tied atop the Group B standings. 

Over the past two decades, U.S. Soccer has invested millions of dollars into creating an infrastructure worthy of producing athletes who can compete on the world’s stage. Their investment complements grassroots campaigns throughout America to develop elite boys and girls, women and men footballers. 

As for the men’s program, the return has been dismal. This is the first team to win an invitation to the Olympics since 2008. The last time Team USA won a medal was at the 1904 Olympics in Saint Louis. Perhaps it will make America feel proud.

Photo Credit: John Babiak

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. Support us via our Patreon starting at $5/month. We’re always looking for new talent. Let us know if you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer.