MARSEILLE, France — Djordje Mihailovic converted a penalty as the United States pounced early in a 4-1 victory over New Zealand on Saturday to stave off possible elimination at the Olympics.
A loss in Marseille could have ended the Americans’ chance to advance to the knockout round for just the second time. The U.S. had lost to France in its Group A opener.
Mihailovic calmly hit the penalty in the eighth minute after Nathan Harriel was brought down in the box by Matthew Garbett.
Four minutes later, senior player Walker Zimmerman, a defender, made it 2-0 when he poked in a goal in a scramble in front of the net following a free kick.
“It’s kind of do-or-die time,” Zimmerman said. “We knew it would come down to the start that we would have, and to get an early goal just was huge. Kind of gave us confidence to really get into the tournament.”
Gianluca Busio scored on a rebound at the half-hour mark and celebrated by dancing with teammate Kevin Paredes. Busio later left the game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, but he said it was just a precaution.
Paxten Aaronson added a fourth goal for the United States in the 58th and New Zealand avoided the shutout with Jesse Randall’s late goal.
“For me, the most important thing is that we get there,” U.S. coach Marko Mitrovic said. “In some games, everything goes on your side. Sometimes it just goes the other way. The game against France was a game of inches, and today we were good at the first two opportunities … When you get in a game with 2-0 at the very beginning it’s obvious it’s a much easier game after that.”
New Zealand’s 2-1 opening victory over Guinea had put the team in a strong position to advance. The OlyWhites, as they are known, started the day second in the group to France.
The United States is set to play Guinea in its final group match Tuesday in Saint-Etienne. New Zealand plays France in Marseille.
Mitrovic said he’s not scoreboard-watching.
“I don’t do the calculation. We never spoke about how we have to win, we have to tie,” the coach said. “We want to maximize every day and we want to maximize every game. Today we spoke before the game that every second on the field matters, that every action matters. And what we have to do is go and execute all those seconds and actions on the field and let’s see where that’s going to take us.”
New Zealand advanced to the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Games three years ago.
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