USA - Guinea: summary, score, goals, highlights 2024 Olympic soccer in Paris
USA - Guinea: as it happened
Full-time thoughts:
Three goals, three points and eleven smiles as the USA overpowered a brave but ultimately flawed Guinea side, who were no match for their opponents' attacking talent.
The tone was set by a fantastic Mihailovic free-kick, which was whipped into the top corner early on.
That set tails wagging in white shirts, and Aaronson slid a pass through the lines to find Kevin Paredes, who caressed the ball underneath Sylla in goal.
Guinea never got going and the US stomped across the length and breadth of the pitch with the same authority we saw against New Zealand.
After the break, goal number three came in the form of a glorious strike from Paredes who, again, made light work of the defenders in green.
While Guinea mounted something of a comeback attempt in the last 20 minutes, spurred on by the non-stop crowd noise, it was never going to get through the brick wall of Harriel-Zimmerman-Robinson-Tolkin: in my book, the four of them each take home a piece of the MVP trophy.
A good attack is built on top of a good defence, and they gave the rest of the team the security to push forward, have fun, and fire the USA into the knockout round.
That's all, folks!
Thanks for checking in with us for that fantastic game of football. The rest of the Olympic Games coverage is all happening over at AS USA.
Joe
FULL-TIME!
THE USA ARE THROUGH TO THE KNOCKOUT ROUNDS
Aliou Balde dances through the challenges inside the box, quick stepping like an Irish dancer. Harriel sticks a foot in at the last minute before the shot is poked towards goal and the chance, once again, goes begging...
HUGE SAVE FROM SCHULTE
Chérif Camara thunders a header at goal from just a few yards out and somehow Schulte pushes it up and over the bar!
The Americans are bored of watching their opponents play the ball, so they steal it from them and look for goal number four. Booth swings in a cross but nobody is there to tap home...
6 added minutes.
We're into the final minute of normal time.
Guinea are controlling the ball in their own half as the USA hold their shape well. It's all being directed by the Zimmerman-Robinson combination at the back.
The fans, like the players, are still putting in maximum effort and the noise is, perhaps surprisingly, very loud inside the ground.
A big tackle on McGuire down the left wing shows that Guinea are still fighting in this game, you can't criticise them on that... the US have just been too strong up front.
Another change for Guinea:
OFF: A Diallo
ON: C Camara
The USA are playing on low power mode now. They're not concerned about keeping the ball and are just making sure that they're solid enough to keep out their tired opponents.
It's the Eiffel Tower again - Zimmerman - who stands tall and heads away a dangerous cross from the right side of the Guinea attack.
After a quick cooling break, we're rolling again.
And in other news...
OFF: Paredes
ON: Wiley
BAT UPDATE:
The bat has seen enough and has left the stadium!
Paredes takes the ball on the right and is given all the time in the world to cut in on his left, shape to shoot and fire into the back of the net.
To add insult to injury, the shot took a deflection on the way past Keita.
GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLL! USA 3-0 Guinea
What a way to restart the play! Paredes with the strike!
Back underway.
Tess Olofsson has stopped play, and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's bat related. If only there was a specific person who could deal with this animal. A Batman, or something.
The US are now keeping possession in an attempt to take the fizz out of the Guinean effort.
I'm not joking, there is a bat on the pitch. It looks like a grey long-eared bat and is just happily eating on the grass. As of yet, Tess Olofsson hasn't stopped play.
We're into the final 20 minutes. Guinea need to find something down the back of the sofa of they're cooked.
Robinson and Zimmerman have been irresistable in defence today. They've shown their class and have been able to deal with everything thrown at them.
Positive stuff again from Guinea, who have the US pinned back... they're yet to create anything clear, however.
USA changes:
OFF: Aaronson, Yow
ON: Booth, McGuire
Guinea double sub:
OFF: Diawara, Bah
ON: I Camara, H Camara
Balde burns past Harriel on the wing and thunders in a low, driven cross.
Zimmerman blocks but the force behind the effort sends his leg spinning behind him and the rest of his body soon follows to the floor.
CHANCE!
McGlynn, who tried everything in his power to score in the last game, sends a cross in that's well blocked behind. Harriel jumps high to head the cross and it's tipped over the bar by Keita.
Yow, who has been a little quieter this half due to Guinea stepping things up, takes possession on the left and dances down the wing. He gets stopped as all three of Guinea's back line charge over to show him who's in charge.
The good news for Guinea is that they are certainly competing better in this half and have moved their block up around 20 yards.
Schulte catches the long, long, long range shot from Ilaix Moriba. If that went in I guess we'd have to give Guinea the win by default.
USA changes:
OFF: Dietz, Mihailovic
ON: McGlynn, Atencio
Paredes advances down the right, cuts inside and threads a ball through the gap across which Yow is cutting with a darting run. However, the touch from Griffin is poor and Guinea survive.
A chance for Guinea!
Solid pressure high up the pitch from Guinea sees Touré find himself with room on the edge of the box. He steadies himself and fires towards Schulte, but the effort is right into his hands.
It's a half-chance for Ousmane Camara, who bursts away through the middle. However, Robinson does well to track his man and blocks the shot inside the box.
Guinea are starting with some comfortable possession as the USA sit and wait for them to advance into their half.
And we're off for the second half!
The US get the ball rolling.
Guinea change their goalkeeper...
OFF: Sylla
ON: Keita
Don't forget!
The USA need to win by 2 goals in order to guarantee their ticket to the knockout rounds.
As things stand, they're on their way...
Half-time thoughts:
The USA are ahead thanks to goals from Mihailovic and Paredes.
Guinea have not played terribly overall but the start from the United States was too much for them to handle. Pressure from Mitrovic's side caused Guinea all sorts of problems and the movement of the front three - Aaronson, Paredes and Yow - was simply overwhelming.
Naby Keita dropped out late on for the Africans and has proved to be a huge miss, with the US consistently finding ways of progressing through the lines to create decent openings.
Having said that, the losing side did end the half strongly and they'll surely be looking to build on that momentum after the break.
HALF-TIME! USA 2-0 GUINEA
The US, as things stand, are through.
Amadou Diawara goes for glory and blasts a shot from range that fizzes over the bar. It's a strong end to the half from the West Africans.
Abdoulaye Touré gets bored and sends a shot goal bound from distance that's collected by Schulte.
This is Guinea's best spell of possession so far, although they're yet to penetrate the USA's defensive unit that is camping on the edge of the box.
Guinea attack down the right but Oulare gets a foul given against him for a clumsy attempt at taking on Griffin Yow. A bit harsh but you've seem 'em given.
6 added minutes.
Well, despite the result, the Guinean fans are making a fantastic noise. Great support.
Off the post!
Yow sneaks towards the front post and connects with the low ball sent in by Paredes. He fires it towards goal and it dinks off the post on its way wide!
Ilaix Moriba - yes, he's playing - hits a shot from long range that's saved.
Five to go in the first half, and the US are cruising. Yow, Paredes and Paxten are endlessly darting around like they've just had their first ever Mountain Dew. I'd hate to be stuck in a car with those three.
Big, big shouts for handball after the corner is swung in and hits Dietz. Nothing given from Tess Olofsson, despite the fuss from the fans.
Great stuff from Zimmerman, who dives in to stop the cross from the left as Guinea show come courage and pile forward.
Dietz lifts his leg as he goes for a high ball and makes contact with Bah. He gets a booking.
Aliou Balde hits an ambitious effort high and wide from range.
Guinea need to find some inspiration from somewhere...
Back underway...
The US are looking great today. Another goal would all but guarantee their place in the next round.
COOLING BREAK TIME!
"Win the duels!" says Mitrovic to his players.
Paxten slides a superb ball through the Guinean defence towards the advancing Paredes on the right wing.
The winger steadies himself and cool-as-you-like lides underneath Sylla to double the lead for the USA.
CHANCE FOR THE US!
It's a second go-- no!
Griffin Yow peels away from his man at the far post and hits the volley towards Sylla.
The goalkeeper parries it onto the post and manages to catch the loose ball before it dribbles over the line.
Guinea forced into an early change:
OFF: Cisse
ON: Oulare
We're rolling again.
While we wait...
Look good, feel good, smell good, play good
That's John Tolkin's mantra. No, seriously. Apparently he owns 11 bottles of perfume.
Bangali Cisse has gone down off the ball and it doesn't look great for the defender.
The West Africans are taking advantage of the US' laissez faire attitude and are putting them under some pressure now...
No Naby?
Ousmane Camara came in for Naby Keita right before the first whistle, which is why I haven't mentioned the former Liverpool man so far. We think it's an injury.
Tessman sees his shot easilysaved by Sylla. The US have dropped the tempo over the last 90 seconds.
He's back on and we're rolling again.
Milhailovic is down and being treated by the medical staff.
It's terrible defending from Guinea who leave acres of room between their lines, allowing for thesimplest of progression for the USA.
The ball is sent from one end of the pitch to the other in two simple vertical passes and the move ends with Aaronson, who sees his cross blocked.
Back underway.
The player steps up and floats the ball into the near corner of the goal with his right boot. No chance for Sylla.
Yow squirms like an energetic ferret and is brought down right on the edge of the box by Bangali Cisse. Free kick to the Americans.
Guinea defend a deep ball lofted in by Mihailovic which was sent back across goal by Zimmerman.
The USA are pushing...
Aaronson gets the ball on the edge of the box after another cheap giveaway from the West Africans but his shot is a pea-roller into the grateful grasp of Sylla.
Sylla gets down well to parry Paredes' scuffed shot from the right side of the box.
Griffin Yow is already showing why Mitrovic has started him from the beginning.
The winger skips past his man on the left and wiggles past another as he bursts into the Guinean half. His pass is accurate and well weighted down the wing but Mihailovic is offside.
Ousmane Camara charges towards John Tolkin on the USA's left as Schulte rolls the ball to the defender.
The attacker almost gets on the end of the loose pass but the crowd throw their hands up in despair - he misjudges the path of the ball.
Groans from the crowd after Guinea counter but Amadou Diallo's touch down the left wing is way too heavy and the ball runs out for a goal kick.
BIG CHANCE FOR THE USA
Sylla, the Guinean goalkeeper, makes an almost catastrophic error inside the box and gives the ball away to Griffin Yow.
The winger cuts in on his right and bends a sensational effort towards the far corner... and the replay shows that Sylla got a touch to tap it over the bar!
Guinea are shuffling from left to right in a compact 5-3-2 mid block as their opponents go side to side on halfway.
It's the US who have started with the ball, as both teams just try to feel the vibes of each other.
THE BALL IS ROLLING!
The African side kick us off.
The US are in white shirts, blue shorts and white socks. Guinea are in the stunning combination of red shirts, yellow shorts and green socks.
What to expect from Guinea?
Kaba Diawara said his team will play with freedom today. Let's see if he's right.
National anthem time!
Beautiful renditions from both nations... a draw is that.
A reminder of the group:
1 | France | 6pts | 4 GD
2 | USA | 3pts | 0 GD
3 | New Zealand | 3pts | -2 GD
4 | Guinea | 0pts | -2 GD
Did you know?
Guinea's population, at 13 million, is around the same as the state of Pennsylvania.
The teams are heading back into the dressing rooms for their team talks!
The warmups are over... it's almost time for kick-off!
RODOLFO MOLINA / DIARIO AS
Who to watch: Ilaix Moriba
The former Barcelona midfielder looked set to progress on pathway right to the top of the tree, but for various reasons his career seemed to halt quite unexpectedly.
A move to RB Leipzig was quickly arranged but various loan spells in Spain soon followed, and we’ve seen him go from the free-flowing styles of Barcelona and Leipzig to the gritty football at Valencia and Getafe.
What it’s done, if not brought him back to the levels we saw in the early days in Cataluña, is show that he is still a flexible player with the capacity to play in the top leagues in the world. I for one want to see Moriba succeed, and there is no better to get people talking about you than shining at the Olympic Games.
A reminder of the starting XIs:
USYNT:
GK: Schulte
DEF: Harriel - Robinson - Zimmerman - Tolkin
MID: Dietz - Tessman - Mihailovic
ATT: Yow - Aaronson - Paredes
GUINEA:
GK: Sylla
DEF: M Keita - Soumah - Cisse
MID: Diallo - Diawara - Touré - Balde
ATT: Moriba - Bah - N Keita
Here's all the information you need if you want to watch the game on your TV or streaming device.
More mad Olympic facts!
Midfielder DjordjeMihajlovic’s opening penalty kick was the U.S. Men’s first at the Olympics in 5,827 days, since midfielder Sacha Kljestan netted a penalty vs. Nigeria in the group stage at Beijing 2008 on Aug. 13, 2008.
Here's today's venue...
The Stade Geoffroy-Guichard is the homeofSt Etienne and today's venue for the game.
Opened in 1930, the ground holds 42,000 fans and this is what it looks like when things get going in green!
In their last game, the USA thrashed a poor New Zealand side who failed to get going in Marseille.
The scoreline didn't flatter the US, who were thoroughly better than their opponents, but it's hard to stress just how easy the Kiwis made it for them: an early penalty was cheaply given away by Garbett, their best performer on the night, and from then the side never got out of second gear.
Calamitous defending undid nice passing moves and dangerous attacks, which allowed the US to breeze into the final third and score with almost every opportunity.
All about Kaba D
Kaba Diawara became head coach of Guinea back in October 2021 and took over the Under-23 side in April ahead of May’s AFC-CAF playoff against Indonesia.
He has won 13 games, drawn 5 and lost 12 with the side so far, a more than reasonable record for the first team. As for the u23s, he has 2 wins, 2 losses and is yet to draw.
Diawara represented France at the youth level as a player. However, he elected to represent Guinea in the end, where he earned 21 caps and scored eight goals between 2004 and 2009.
USA injury news:
The USYNT confirm that Josh Atencio will take the place of Gianluca Busio for the game today.
HERE IS THE USA XI!
GriffinYow, who was superb in the previous game from the bench, gets what I think is a much deserved chance from the off. He takes the place of Busio, who was injured against New Zealand.
Overage players in the Guinea team:
Anderlecht’s Amadou Diawara (27), Werder Bremen’s Naby Keïta (29) and Le Havre’s Abdoulaye Touré (30) are Guinea's overage players selected by coach Kaba Diawara.
Jump in!
Come on over to Twitter and have your say on how the game is going to go. I want a score, goalscorers, yellow cards, red cards, fouls and everything in between! Give it your best shot!
I won't make fun of you being way off the mark... I promise.
No Pulisic, no McKennie, no Brenden Aaronson, no Tyler Adams... I'll let you decide who you miss the most (and the least).
Anyway, that's right, not many of the household soccer names are at the Olympic Games this time, due to a very specific rule that bans all of them from competing at once.
It's the reason there's none of the elite players we are used to seeing in the top leagues, such as Rodri, Mbappé or Messi.
USA full squad roster:
Goalkeepers: Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea)
Defenders: Maximilian Dietz (Greuther Furth), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Caleb Wiley (Chelsea), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)
Midfielders: Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Benjamin Cremaschi (Inter Miami CF), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union), Djordje Mihailovic (Colorado Rapids), Tanner Tessmann (Venezia)
Forwards: Paxten Aaronson (FC Utrecht), Taylor Booth (FC Utrecht), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Griffin Yow (KVC Westerlo)
Did you know?
Guinea is competing in the Olympics for the second time in the country’s history this summer, having last competed at Mexico City 1968.
What a result for Egypt!
The African nation finished top of the group, beating Spain 1-2 in the final game of the first round to secure a famous three points. Will Gittins was all over the action in Bordeaux, where Ibrahim Adel was the hero on the day.
Spain huffed and puffed, but Egypt defended superbly and were deadly in attack.
Keep up to date with the latest medal table at the Paris Summer Olympics, today, Monday July 29, 2024. Every gold, silver and bronze medal on Day 3.
Who's the ref?
It's Fröken Tess Olofsson who is the woman with the whistle today.
The Allsvenskan regular has also overseen Women's Euro games and took charge of Canada against Australia earlier in the Games.
Here's how the group looks:
As the tweet says, were the US to get through, it would be the first time since 2000 that they have reached the knockout rounds.
They sit second, behind a hugely talented France team, which is not too shabby at all. A solid result against Guinea would certainly give them a confidence boost ahead of a potential knockout round.
USA to wear white in final group game
The USYNT will want to finish off the group stages with another resounding win, as they did against New Zealand (more on that later). The Americans were impressive, although it must be said that their opponents did not light up the world.
USA & Guinea injury news
There are no injuries to reportfor either side as both managers name a fully fit set of squads.
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the AS USA live coverage of the USA against Guinea in the Olympic soccer tournament across France.
It's Joe here to guide you through the action as it unfolds.