USMNT outlasts Paraguay 1-0, advances to Copa America quarterfinals

PHILADELPHIA (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Men’s National Team scored early through Clint Dempsey and held on late after DeAndre Yedlin was sent off to defeat Paraguay 1-0 in front of a raucous crowd of 51,041 at Lincoln Financial Field. Following Costa Rica’s 3-2 win against Colombia, the U.S. also clinched first place in the group and will return to action against a to-be-determined Group B team on Thursday, June 16 in Seattle for a Quarterfinal match-up.

After John Brooks made a brilliant defensive play in the opening stanza to deny Paraguay a clear cut shot at goal, the USA settled into the match and began to take control. Near the half-hour mark, Gyasi Zardes fed Dempsey for what proved to be the game winner.

In the second half the U.S. team pulled together to record its second consecutive clean sheet in tournament play after Yedlin was ejected two minutes after the break for two bookable offenses in less than two minutes.

The USA (2-1-0, 6pts) is now guaranteed of advancing to the knockout stage and temporarily moves atop Group A based on goal differential. The U.S. would retain that position should Colombia (2-0-0, 6pts) lose to Costa Rica (0-1-1, 1pt) by five or fewer goals in the day’s late game. Paraguay (0-2-1, 1pt) drops to the bottom of the group standings pending the result of the Colombia-Costa Rica match.

Thursday’s game will be broadcast live on FS1, UniMas and UDN.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Clint Dempsey (Gyasi Zardes), 27th minute: Michael Bradley collected a pass at the midfield stripe and played the ball out to Zardes on the left wing. Zardes took on two Paraguay defenders and worked his way to the end line inside the Paraguay box before centering the ball on the ground. Dempsey made a late run to the penalty spot and met Zardes’ cross to snap a one-time, left foot shot beneath a defender and diving Paraguay ‘keeper Justo Villar to record the game-winner. USA 1, PAR 0 FINAL

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:
USA – John Brooks, 11th minute: With the USA pushed high into an attack, Paraguay won the ball near midfield and transitioned quickly into a three-on-one break with only U.S. center back John Brooks in position to defend. As the three attackers broke in on the U.S. goal, Brooks ably kept his body between the ball and the U.S. goal before turning and sliding in to deny Miguel Almiron a point-blank shot at goal.

PAR – Justo Villar, 62nd minute: The USA disrupted and then countered a Paraguay possession with a three-on-two break led by Bobby Wood, who drove down the middle of the field to the top of the Paraguay box, drawing the defenders to him before playing in Gyasi Zardes on the left. With only the goalkeeper to beat, Zardes took a touch and tried to get off a quick shot, but Justo Villar got down quick to smother the chance.

USA – Brad Guzan, 82nd minute: Paraguay carved out its best chance of the second half by breaking in through the USA’s left flank. Jorge Benitez scrambled the ball past a Michael Bradley challenge to get off a close range shot on the U.S. goal from the left corner of the six-yard box, but Guzan charged out to cut down the angle and make a kick save. The U.S. ‘keeper then recovered well to deny the follow-up attempt that was put on frame by Miguel Almiron after he collected the initial rebound.

Next on the Schedule: The U.S. MNT continues its 2016 Copa America Centenario against a yet-to-be determined opponent from Group B that could be any of Brazil, Peru or Ecuador. The USA’s final position in the Group A table will determine where it plays in the tournament Quarterfinals; it could be either June 16 at CenturyLink Field in Seattle or June 17 at MetLife Stadium in the New York Metropolitan area.

Broadcast information: FS1, UniMas, UDN

Milestone Watch:

Clint Dempsey scored his 51st goal in his 127th cap for the USA. He is now, only six behind all-time U.S. leader Landon Donovan and has scored the winning goal in each of the USA’s last two games.

Additional Notes:

Tonight’s win improves the USA’s all-time record vs. Paraguay to 3-2-2.
Tonight’s lineup featured an unchanged starting XI from the USA’s opening two games against Colombia and Costa Rica.
Brad Guzan earned the 17th shutout of his international career. He and the U.S. defense have now posted 228 consecutive scoreless minutes in the 2016 Copa America.
Michael Bradley and Gyasi Zardes have both played in nine of 10 MNT games in 2016, tied for the team lead.
Due to his ejection, DeAndre Yedlin will miss the team’s quarterfinal match; however, he will be the only U.S. player unavailable for the next match due to card accumulation.

– U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Paraguay
Date: June 11, 2016
Competition: 2016 Copa America Centenario – Group A
Venue: Lincoln Financial Field; Philadelphia, Pa.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 51,041
Weather: 88 degrees, cloudy

Scoring Summary:    1          2          F
USA                             1          0          1
PAR                             0          0          0

USA – Clint Dempsey (Gyasi Zardes) 27th minute

Lineups:
USA: 1-Brad Guzan; 2-DeAndre Yedlin, 20-Geoff Cameron, 6-John Brooks, 23-Fabian Johnson; 11-Alejandro Bedoya (19-Graham Zusi, 75), 4-Michael Bradley (capt.), 13-Jermaine Jones; 9-Gyasi Zardes, 8-Clint Dempsey (14-Michael Orozco, 50), 7-Bobby Wood (15-Kyle Beckerman, 83)
Subs not used: 3-Steve Birnbaum, 5-Matt Besler, 10-Darlington Nagbe, 12-Tim Howard, 16-Perry Kitchen, 17-Christian Pulisic, 18-Chris Wondolowski, 21-Edgar Castillo, 22-Ethan Horvath
Head Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann

PAR: 1-Justo Villar; 14-Paulo Da Silva, 3-Gustavo Gomez, 2-Fabian Balbuena (15-Juan Iturbe, 46), 6-Miguel Samudio; 10-Derlis Gonzalez, 20-Victor Ayala, 16-Celso Ortiz (8-Rodrigo Rojas, 55); 17- Miguel Almiron; 9-Antonio Sanabria (7-Jorge Benitez, 63), 19-Dario Lezcano
Subs not used: 4-Ivan Piris, 5-Bruno Valdez, 11-Edgar Benitez, 12-Antony Silva, 13-Blas Riveros, 18-Nelson Haedo Valdez, 22-Diego Barreto, 23-Robert Piris Da Motta
Head Coach: Ramon Diaz

Stats Summary: USA / PAR
Shots: 5 / 9
Shots on Goal: 3 / 7
Saves: 7 / 2
Corner Kicks: 3 / 8
Fouls: 20 / 15
Offside: 1 / 2

Misconduct Summary:
PAR – Celso Ortiz (caution)                13th minute
USA – DeAndre Yedlin (caution)         47
USA – DeAndre Yedlin (caution)         48
USA – DeAndre Yedlin (ejection)        48
PAR – Rodrigo Rojas (caution)           71
USA – Bobby Wood (caution)             72
PAR – Victor Ayala (caution)               78
USA – Michael Orozco (caution)         79
USA – Jermaine Jones (caution)        87

Officials:
Referee: Julio Bascunan (CHI)
Assistant Referee 1: Carlos Astroza (CHI)
Assistant Referee 2: Christian Schliemann (CHI)
4th Official: John Pitti (PAN)

Man of the Match: John Brooks