DALLAS — United States men's national team defender Tim Ream said his team must set the pace early in Sunday's Copa America opener against Bolivia.
“We have to come out with intensity, with the desire to impose ourselves in the game and make sure that we are the ones doing the right things and creating the feeling and the intensity of the games,” Ream told reporters on Thursday. at the Cotton Bowl. “It's going to be important for us to do it from the first minute. Obviously, we don't want anything like that to happen.” [against] Jamaica, where you're fighting for the rest of the game.”
That game against Jamaica was the Concacaf Nations League semifinal in March. The USMNT conceded in the first minute and tied it in second-half stoppage time before scoring twice in overtime to advance to the final, which the Americans won.
Sunday marks the start of the USMNT's Copa América campaign at home, the team's biggest test ahead of the co-hosted 2026 World Cup. The USMNT is the favorite against a Bolivian team that is ranked 84th in the world, the worst among all South American teams.
Bolivia, however, is under new management since last year with the appointment of coach Antônio Carlos Zago, a former Copa América winner with Brazil as a player in 1999. The USMNT expects a more aggressive Bolivian team in the Copa América based on the changes Zago has made. made.
“They have some talented ball players that if they have the space to look in the pockets and attack us, they could be problems,” USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner told reporters on Friday. “They like to shoot from distance, put balls into the area, and not in vain, but their zone is difficult. They face very, very good teams all the time.
“So for us, it's going to be a challenging game. It's a game for us to understand what this tournament is really about and how much it means to all these South American countries as well. So I think we were able to prove that in the friendlies, but now that the lights “They're really fired up, it's important for us to put our foot down and put in a good performance.”
Ream also expects a higher-pressure Bolivia team, but says the USMNT will be ready if they encounter a more conservative opponent sitting on a lower block.
“They've changed their style a little bit in terms of the way they press and we're prepared for that,” Ream said. “We are prepared for them, more than anything, to press higher up the field, because that has been the change they have made. But, again, you don't know until you go into the game and read what is happening. “
Bolivia arrives at the Copa América with a streak of three consecutive defeats in preparation matches against Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico. Meanwhile, the United States bounced back from a 5-1 loss to Colombia this month by drawing with Brazil 1-1 on June 12.
The USMNT and Bolivia last played in 2018, when the Americans won 3-0. Josh Sargent, 18, scored in his USMNT debut that day, and his teammate Tim Weah, 18, also scored his first goal in his second appearance. Both players are part of the USMNT's Copa América squad.
Ream is the oldest player ever included in a USMNT Copa America roster at 36 years old. This will be Ream's first Copa América alongside a young team that has largely not experienced the tournament. Only Christian Pulisic and goalkeeper Ethan Horvath were on the roster of the USMNT's 2016 Copa América Centenario team.
Playing against South American opponents in a competitive environment (including Uruguay in the group stage) is an experience the USMNT doesn't often have.
“It's a great opportunity for us,” Ream said. “It's a great opportunity to test ourselves, play against the best in South America and a good opportunity to see how far we've come in the last three or four years.”
