The U.S. men’s Olympic soccer team scored three times in 30 minutes in a crushing 4-1 victory over Group A rival New Zealand in Marseille on Saturday to deliver a big boost to its hopes of making the knockout stages.
After a 3-0 loss to host France in its opening match on Wednesday, the U.S. knew a loss could spell the end of its chances of making the quarterfinals as one of the top two teams in Group A.
But Djordje Mihailovic and Walker Zimmerman both scored in the opening 12 minutes to ease the tension.
Mihailovic calmly converted a penalty after Nathan Harriel was brought down in the box by Matthew Garbett. Zimmerman — one of three overage players on the under-23 roster — made it 2-0 when he poked in a goal in a scramble in front of the net following a free kick.
Midfielder Gianluca Busio added a third goal off a rebound on the half-hour mark before Paxten Aaronson netted in the 58th minute to mark the first time the U.S. men had scored four goals in an Olympic game.
New Zealand, which beat Guinea 2-1 in its opening game, got a consolation goal in the 78th minute through Jesse Randall.
The U.S. will play its final group game against Guinea in Saint-Etienne on Tuesday.
New Zealand is making its fourth Olympic appearance. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Games after being disqualified for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for using an ineligible player at a qualification tournament.
France was playing Guinea later on Saturday in Nice.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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