In the aftermath of the United States’ 2-0 victory over Bolivia, American players were determined to ask for more out of themselves and their brethren going forward in the Copa America.
A goal scored early by Christian Pulisic was a tone-setter and Folarin Balogun added to his bank account with a goal just on the stroke of halftime.
But in between those goals was disjointed play that seemed to frustrate some of the team. That was followed by a second half where the team dominated attacking chances, but could not find the back of the net.
The USMNT has spent plenty of time in training together these past few weeks and captain Christian Pulisic says they’ve started to demand more out of each other as the days go by.
‘Just high standards always, every single day, not just today, but on the training pitch,’ Pulisic told DailyMail.com.
Christian Pulisic says the USMNT are demanding ‘high standards, always’ at Copa America
Gio Reyna praised the USA’s opponents saying South American competition is ‘not easy’
‘Expecting more out of each other, demanding the highest level at all times.
‘It’s easy when you’re such a close group to just allow guys to get away with things, but just to keep pushing each other and expecting more.
‘At the end of the day, we’re all brothers, so there’s no hard feelings.’
As for if the captain felt he got that out of the team today?: ‘I think in a lot of ways, yes. There’s always things we can improve on. I’m not going to say it was perfect, but yeah.’
Gio Reyna put on a solid performance in midfield and credited the Bolivians for their high level of play despite their gulf in quality and in the FIFA rankings.
‘It’s not easy to play against South American competition,’ Reyna told reporters. ‘[After] one goal, maybe we did get a little complacent for a bit, but they also did well with winning second balls and putting us in our half and making us control our goal a bit more.
‘The second goal helped a lot also. It was something that we looked at in film that we can hurt them in transition a lot.
‘Overall, great performance. Just happy the way we started.’
Folarin Balogun (20) bagged his fourth goal for the United States since joining last year
Balogun’s second goal was one that avoided clenched fists in the second half – giving the United States a comfortable lead.
It was also his first goal since a friendly against Ghana last October and his fourth with the United States.
It’s clear that Balogun has begun to gel with this squad more and the goal was a long time coming.
‘Yeah, I think it’s good. I think it allows me to build momentum,’ Balogun told DailyMail.com.
‘It’s always nice coming into a tournament on your first game scoring as well. I just look to build momentum and look to add more to my tally.’
Next up for the United States is their second group stage game against Panama in Atlanta on Thursday.