The USA’s U-23 Men’s National Team opened their Olympic tournament with a 3-0 loss to France. It’s a harsh scoreline, as France’s first two goals came against the run of play, and both just after we hit the woodwork. Check out this graphic on attacking momentum and you’ll see both of their goals came after periods of high pressure by the USA.

Despite winning 3-0, France only generated shots worth 0.43 xG in the match, meaning their chances weren’t great. It also means they did an outstanding job to finish 3 of them. We also think some poor goalkeeping by Patrick Schulte contributed.

Clearly, this was a more even game than the score indicates. Still, full credit to France for the victory. Their quality in the final third shone through with Olise and Lacazette scoring great goals. We can count ourselves unlucky, but we don’t have that type of talent up top. 

For much of the first half, France controlled possession, without creating clear cut chances. With the score at 0-0, US winger Paxten Aaronson had the best chance of the half after a beautiful buildup down our right wing resulted in an opening on the left side of France’s box. His shot was saved but it showed we were in the match. Overall, it was a very good first half against the hosts and Gold Medal favorites.

The US looked the better team in the opening minutes of the second half, and Djordje Mihailovic almost scored a stunner when his ripped shot hit the crossbar in the 59th. France then scored with a weak shot of their own in the 61st, when Alexandre Lacazette beat Patrick Schulte low and to his right. We were shocked to see this go in live, and the replays haven’t done Schulte any favors. He has to do better. (Skip to the 40th second in this video for a better view, and apologies for the audio en Español but NBC won’t let sites embed their English language video)

The US had a fantastic response to going down 1-0, and continued to put intense pressure on the French goal. Kevin Paredes put in two very good crosses from the right wing in quick succession. Aaronson forced a good save on the first, and John Tolkin hit the post on what should have been a goal from the second. The US deserved to be level, but then Bayern Munich’s new signing Michael Olise scored from 21 yards with a curled effort. Paredes had an easy opportunity to intercept a pass in the buildup, but he bundled it to Lacazette who then found Olise in space. 

From there, we conceded a disappointing third from a corner, then had what would have been a very good goal by substitute Griffin Yow called back for offsides. Headlines that we were “dominated” by France are unfair in our view. France deserved to win as they took their chances well, and we failed to do so. However, this game was much closer than the scoreline implies. We think better things should be on the way in the remaining matches.

Schulte struggled. We think he c/should have saved the first goal. He also looked nervy on a cross towards the end of the first half and a few other moments as well. We’d like to see Slonina get a chance so we can see where he is in his development too.

Tessman impressed. He defended well, and his first touch passing was excellent both with his feet and his head. We can see why Inter Milan was interested. If he continues to play this well, he will deserve another shot at the full national team level with every chance to beat out Johnny Cardoso for that roster spot.

McGuire looked good, especially in the first half. He has good first touch, worked hard defensively, and made a number of very intelligent runs that unfortunately weren’t rewarded with a ball over the top. Hopefully he can get in the goals when we should have more possession and chances against New Zealand and Guinea.

It’s been a tough summer for US Soccer fans so far. Hopefully the WNT can get our vibes headed the right direction with a W against Zambia tomorrow. They kick off at 3pm ET on USA. We need a good start in that group, with difficult games against Germany and 2023 World Cup Semifinalists Australia still to come.

On the Men’s side, the USA will look to recover with a match against New Zealand on Saturday. Heading into the tournament, this looked like the easiest match of our group stage, with New Zealand having extremely long odds to win the Gold. However, New Zealand was victorious over Guinea, which unfortunately turns this into a virtual must win. If we lose and France beats Guinea, we’re out after only 2 games. A draw would leave some potential to advance but we would need to overturn a massive disadvantage in goal difference in our 3rd group stage match. Here’s the Men’s table heading into round 2 of Group A action.