ARLINGTON, Texas – United States men's national soccer team coach Gregg Berhalter praised captain Christian Pulisic's leadership after his one-goal, one-assist performance in Sunday's 2-0 win over Bolivia to kick off their campaign in the 2024 Copa América.
“He's a selfless leader,” Berhalter told reporters after the game at AT&T Stadium. “He goes out there and just competes and works really hard, and that helps the team. And then you add the fact that he's very skilled and can make plays on the offensive end, it's a great combination.”
“For me, tonight was an exceptional performance,” added Berhalter, who said Pulisic earned the coach's player of the match award.
Pulisic opened the scoring in the third minute, burying a shot after passing a short corner to Tim Weah and receiving the ball near the edge of the area. Pulisic ran to the sideline and looked for set-piece coach Gianni Vio in the stands, finally pointing out him as he celebrated.
“It's the Copa América, it's a great tournament,” Pulisic said. “I feel like I'm always very excited after scoring, but it's a great moment, it's an important tournament.”
Pulisic then scored an assist just before halftime, picked up the ball and turned in midfield before finding Folarin Balogun to finish with his left foot.
Tyler Adams earned his first USMNT start since the Concacaf Nations League final in March and played 45 minutes, which Berhalter said was always the plan despite Adams asking to play more time.
“I thought, 'Dude, we've been down this road,'” Berhalter said with a smile.
“But of course he wants to stay on the field, and that's Tyler. You see how much he means to the team; you see his attitude and his intensity. He's a guy we want on the field, but we just have to be careful. The plan was 45 minutes from the start and we stuck to the plan.”
Adams said he felt more comfortable coming out of the game with the team leading but that “obviously, I'm looking forward to playing.”
The Americans were heavy favorites coming into the game. Bolivia is second from bottom in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, with the worst goal difference and just one win in six games.
Bolivia offered little going forward and failed to seriously test American goalkeeper Matt Tuner, while the American team had several opportunities to increase its lead in the second half.
“We will always consider opportunity creation as a marker of performance, and I think we created enough opportunities today,” Berhalter said. “And most days, those opportunities are going to come, and today they didn't, and that's okay.
“I think we are satisfied with the result. The match was never in doubt and I think it is a good starting point to build on throughout this tournament.”
The USMNT will face Panama on Thursday in Atlanta before finishing the group against Uruguay on July 1.
“For us it's just about analyzing and improving,” Berhalter said. “I talked about how one of our goals throughout this tournament was to keep trying to improve. I like the performance for an opening match against a tough opponent. We're in a good position.”
