America’s men’s soccer team ended a 24-year drought by reaching the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament with a 3-0 win over Guinea on Tuesday.
This victory in Saint-Etienne allowed the U.S. to advance to the knockout stage for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The team will face Morocco on Friday.
U.S. coach Marko Mitrovic commented, “Right now I’m living this moment, and we’ll analyze what it means once we are done with it.”
Kevin Paredes scored twice, and Djordje Mihailovic added a stunning free kick to ensure the win, which placed the U.S. in second place behind Group A winner France, who defeated New Zealand 3-0.
The Americans, participating in the Olympics for the first time since 2008, bounced back from an initial 3-0 defeat to France by securing consecutive victories against New Zealand and Guinea.
Next, they will face a strong Morocco team, which topped Group B and defeated Argentina.
“I watched their first game against Argentina,” Mitrovic noted. “I was in my room. I think they are a very, very good team.”
A win against Morocco would see the U.S. replicate their Sydney 2000 performance by reaching the semifinals.
“We came here to be who we are, and I think we did it again today. We just have to recover and prepare for the next game,” said Mitrovic.
