he Host United States He will make his debut on Sunday against Bolivia in the 2024 Copa America, an event that his coach, Gregg Berhalter, sees as an opportunity to lay the foundations for a competitive team. Facing the 2026 World Cup.
Berhalter considered the Copa America a “decisive” tournament for the team due to the level of teams such as world champions Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.
However, the coach called on Thursday not to lose focus.
“We have to take each match as it comes. I know I may sound like a record, but our focus is on Bolivia. We know how difficult the group stage is in any major tournament (…). You can do it. ” “Don’t take anything for granted if you do, you’re making a mistake,” said DT.
The match, which will open Group C, will kick off at 5:00 p.m. local time (10:00 p.m. GMT) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Marcelo Bielsa’s favorites Uruguay will face Panama in the second round, in Miami, in the other key clash on Sunday.
“Our focus is on Bolivia. “After that our focus will be on Panama and then Uruguay and hopefully we will have the opportunity to play in the quarter-finals,” Berhalter explained. “The whole competition is an opportunity for this team to show how much we have improved in this type of tournament.”
Pulisic “Captain America”
The United States has important names, including Christian Pulisic, the heir to the retired Landon Donovan as “Captain America.”
Pulisic (Milan), Giovanni Reyna (Nottingham Forest), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) are the players who make the North American team a serious candidate to qualify.
Richards highlighted the internal competition. “I’ve been a starter in some of the last games… but I know the people around me and the people on the bench are trying to win my place. It makes me work 10 times harder,” said the Crystal Palace defender.
But the home side are struggling with significant injuries, such as full-back Sergino Dest, who suffered a serious injury to his right knee while training with PSV Eindhoven, where he was on loan from Barcelona.
The United States are a team that has had a lot of success. They won the CONCACAF Nations League for the third time last March, beating Mexico 2-0 in the final.
Tough
the Bolivia news Less encouraging.
“The fans and the press think that things change from day to day. It has been ten years since we won a match in the Copa America,” Brazilian coach Carlos Antonio Zago said at a press conference, referring to the series of matches. The Green Falcons have failed to win in the previous three editions: 2016, 2019 and 2021.
However, he is looking forward to a good start for his team.
“It will be important to start the Copa America with a win over the host,” said the former footballer.
The focus, meanwhile, is on the resumption of South American World Cup qualifiers in September, with Bolivia playing Venezuela in La Paz and Chile in Santiago.
There will be refereeing by UEFA: Italian Maurizio Mariani will be the main referee.
Possible formations:
USA: Matt Turner – Joe Scully, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, Antonee Robinson – Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie – Gio Reyna – Tim Weah, Josh Sargent, Christian Pulisic. DT: Gregg Berhalter.
Bolivia: Guillermo Vizcarra – Hector Cuellar, Luis Haken, Jose Sagredo – Rodrigo Ramalho, Leonel Justiniano, Roberto Fernandez, Robson Matheus, Gabriel Villamil – Bruno Miranda and Cesar Menacho. DT: Antonio Carlos Zago.
Time and place to watch this Sunday’s games
USA VS Bolivia at 4:00 PM and you can watch it on ViX, TUDN, Azteca Deportes.
Uruguay vs Panama at 7:00 PM and you can watch it on ViX, TUDN, Azteca Deportes.
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