Christian Pulisic opened the scoring with a spectacular strike, and Folarin Balogun added a second just before halftime as the United States began their Copa America campaign with a confident 2-0 victory over Bolivia.
“It was important for us to start the tournament on a positive note,” said US coach Gregg Berhalter. “We wanted to build momentum and improve our performance as the tournament progresses, so I’m pleased with how we started.”
The US team came out with intensity and purpose against Bolivia, who have struggled in recent Copa America tournaments, winning just once in their last 31 matches.
Balogun missed an early chance in the opening seconds, but Pulisic quickly made amends with a brilliant goal from outside the box, beating Bolivian goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.
It was Pulisic’s 30th international goal, a milestone achieved in his 69th appearance. Interestingly, his first international goal also came against Bolivia back in May 2016.
The Americans doubled their lead just before halftime when Pulisic turned provider, setting up Balogun, who calmly slotted the ball into the bottom corner to end his six-game goal drought for the national team.
In the second half, substitute Ricardo Pepi came close to extending the lead further, but his efforts were denied by Viscarra on four occasions.
Bolivia’s coach, Antonio Carlos Zago, acknowledged the challenge his team faced: “We tried to recover, but conceding a goal so early put us on the back foot. We could have shown more fight, but we were up against the host team. They are a strong side, and I commend my players for their efforts.”
The US will look to build on this win when they face Panama on Thursday in Atlanta, while Bolivia will aim to bounce back against Uruguay in New Jersey.
Vietnam’s two big cities lead region in dynamic growth: JLL
HCM City and Hanoi continue to lead the momentum in Southeast Asia, ranking third and seventh among the most dynamic cities in the world, according to the City Momentum Index recently issued by property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle.
Foreign investors still eye Vietnam amid Covid-19 outbreak
Foreign investors still pay great attention to Vietnam albeit the complicated developments of the acute respiratory disease caused by Covid-19 which started to hit the world earlier this year.
US attracts most Vietnamese investment in three months
Vietnam invested 49.3 million USD abroad in the first three months of 2020, with the US being the biggest recipient.
ASEAN, US Foreign Ministers convene on COVID-19
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh On April 23, joined the ASEAN Foreign Ministers and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo in the Special ASEAN-US Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on COVID-19.
Leading US firms interested in Vietnam
Trade volume between Vietnam and the US has increased by 120 times to 60 billion USD in 2019 from 450 million USD in 1995, the year marking the normalization of the two countries’ relations.
