And that’s not essentially an excellent factor for the U.S. males’s soccer staff, which returned to the Olympics after a 16-year absence on Wednesday, shedding 3-0 to France earlier than a crowd of 67,000 on the Orange Velodrome, the biggest turnout for an Olympic soccer sport since Brazil’s house opener in 2016.
The targets, all within the second half, got here from Alexandre Lacazette, Michael Olise and Loic Bade. But for US coach Marko Mitrović, the sport was much less a defeat than a chance.
“There have been so many positives that we have to construct on,” he stated. “I can not say something to the gamers. They have been in the suitable locations, (made) the suitable passes, the suitable crosses.
“I’ve a sense in my coronary heart that we did not need to lose like this. But we now have to be taught the lesson. This is a enterprise the place outcomes matter. If we are able to take the positives from this sport and construct on them and overlook concerning the outcome, that will be very optimistic.”
In males’s soccer, Olympic squads are — with three exceptions — restricted to gamers 23 and below. For the United States, that meant no Christian Pulisic or Weston McKennie, whereas the host nation was with out Kylian Mbappe or anybody else who performed for France on this month’s Euro semifinals and the finals of the final two World Cups.
Not that the French have misplaced any. With over 1,000 gamers unfold throughout the globe, the nation is the world’s second-largest producer of younger soccer expertise, behind solely Brazil.
Yet the anxious and over-eager French struggled to resolve a US staff content material to crowd their penalty space, deploying as much as six gamers alongside their again line. The Americans, against this, have been composed and affected person, which allowed them to maintain tempo with their closely favored foes.
For an hour.
The sport started within the heat, southern French nighttime twilight, because the peaks of the nice limestone hills that crisscross Marseille loomed above the undulating roof of an iconic stadium now operated by former Dodgers proprietor Frank McCourt.
But these hilltops had lengthy since light into obscurity by the point of the match’s first objective, which got here within the 61st minute when Lacazette, the France captain who had performed in a Europa League remaining with Arsenal, headed in a right-footed shot from US goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to present France the lead.
The objective got here simply minutes after US striker Djordje Mihailovic fired a long-range shot in opposition to the crossbar.
And the Americans nearly saved Lacazette’s objective, solely to be denied twice within the house of some seconds, first when French goalkeeper Guillaume Restes made an ideal save on Paxten Aaronson’s header, then when John Tolkin’s header went previous Restes however hit the far submit, leaving Tolkin pounding the grass in frustration.
Olise, the highest scorer for Premier League facet Crystal Palace this season, then successfully sealed the win, doubling France’s lead with a left-footed shot from exterior the world following an help from Lacazette.
Then Bade closed the scoring with a header within the eighty fifth minute.
“We hit the crossbar, they scored a objective,” Mitrović stated. “We had two unimaginable moments after that, they scored a second objective. When you play in opposition to elite groups, these little issues, these inches you give them, they use them.”
Defender Walker Zimmerman echoed his coach’s optimism.
“One hundred p.c,” he stated. “Look on the probabilities we had, these have been nice alternatives that we simply need to capitalize on. But we are able to take lots of positives from right this moment and know that we are able to compete with one of the best.”
The United States nonetheless has management of its personal future, even when its margin for error has now run out: Wednesday’s defeat will drive it to win in opposition to New Zealand and Guinea in its subsequent group video games to advance to the knockout phases for the second time since 1956.
“Every match turns into a must-win,” Mitrović stated. “This is a match. The margins are very small. In addition to good performances, we now need to get outcomes.”
