Christian Pulisic Shines As USA Clinches 2-0 Win Over Bolivia In Copa America

Christian Pulisic delivered an impressive performance, scoring a goal and providing an assist, as the United States began their Copa America campaign with a 2-0 victory over Bolivia on Sunday. Gregg Berhalter's team secured a comfortable win at AT&T Stadium in Texas, largely due to the efforts of captain Pulisic in their Group C opener.

The Milan forward took just three minutes to score a stunning opener before setting up Folarin Balogun, who had another goal disallowed after the interval. Bolivia rarely threatened a comeback, allowing the USA to achieve a winning start to a Copa campaign for the first time since 1995 when they defeated Chile 2-1 in Uruguay.

Antonio Carlos Zago's side failed to heed an early warning when goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra had to rush out and clear in front of Balogun. Bolivia were caught off guard minutes later as Timothy Weah worked a short corner with Pulisic, who curled into the top-right corner from an acute angle on the left-hand side of the area.

Weah, son of legendary forward George, was denied from point-blank range as the USA almost doubled their lead immediately. However, Berhalter's team soon extended their advantage in Arlington. Pulisic found space in midfield again and set up Balogun, who fired a left-footed drive into the bottom-right corner in the 44th minute.

This marked Balogun's first-ever goal at this tournament. The Monaco striker found the back of the net again after the interval, but his tap-in was ruled out for offside. Weah had rushed forward to capitalise on Weston McKennie's pass before sliding across for his attacking partner.

Viscarra saved Pulisic's effort before the hour mark as he attempted to recreate his earlier heroics. Substitute Ricardo Pepi missed from Antonee Robinson's pinpoint delivery and was later denied by Viscarra's reflexes. The USA coasted to an opening victory before their next match against Panama on Thursday, while Bolivia will face Uruguay a day later.

Pulisic was widely regarded as the USA player to watch at the Copa America, and he delivered impressively in this opener. Fresh from scoring 15 goals across all competitions for Serie A giants Milan, Pulisic's opening strike had an expected goals (xG) tally of just 0.037 but posed no problem for the USA captain.

His effort halted a poor run for the USA against CONMEBOL sides at this tournament, as Berhalter's team had previously lost eight of ten such games. The victory also marked the USA's first Copa triumph over Bolivia in just their second attempt, avenging a 1-0 defeat in 1995 when Marco Etcheverry scored the winner.

Bolivia sought a win against a CONCACAF opponent in Copa action for the first time since 1997 when they defeated Mexico 3-1 in the semi-finals of that year's tournament. However, their wait continues after a lacklustre performance in Texas.

Carlos Zago won this competition as a player with Brazil in 1999, but his team has much work to do if they are to escape their group in the USA. Bolivia have now lost their last four international outings by a concerning margin of 9-1, suffering defeats against Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, and now the USA.