The U.S. men’s soccer team crucially needed a good result against New Zealand to increase its chances of making it out of the group stage, and the team did exactly that. Days after losing its opener to France, the U.S. was able to pick itself up and beat New Zealand in dominant fashion by winning 4-1.
The Americans got on the board early after defender Nathan Harriel was fouled in the opposition’s box, and midfielder Djordje Mihailovic was able to coolly put away the penalty to give his side a 1-0 lead.
It only took the U.S. four minutes to double its lead after veteran defender Walker Zimmerman—one of the overaged players on the roster—got on the end of a rebound from close range.
The first half wasn’t quite over for the Yanks as Kevin Paredes teed up Gianluca Busio inside the box to score and make it 3-0.
The U.S. continued to dominate possession and create opportunities in the second half as Paxten Aaronson got in on the fun by adding his team’s fourth goal of the match in the 58th minute.
