U.S. men’s soccer rolls into Olympic quarters for first time in 24 years

For the second time in four days, they were ambitious and opportunistic from the opening whistle, and with Djordje Mihailovic and Kevin Paredes scoring in the first half and Paredes adding a second late, they claimed second place with a 3-0 victory over Guinea at sticky Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Their reward is a trip to Paris on Friday to face Morocco, which edged favored Argentina for the top spot in Group B. Argentina and Group A winner France (3-0-0) will tangle in a heavyweight quarterfinal in Bordeaux.

The United States (2-1-0) took comfort Tuesday knowing a draw — and perhaps even a loss — probably would have done enough to remain in the 16-team tournament featuring players mostly ages 23 and under.

Given how well the U.S. team performed the past two matches — albeit against considerably weaker opponents — the 3-0 loss to France in the opener seemed like a lot longer than a week ago.

Sustaining the rhythm that carried them to a 4-1 victory over New Zealand on Saturday, the Americans snatched control right away and went ahead on Mihailovic’s free kick in the 14th minute.

Then in the 31st, Paredes — a former D.C. United homegrown winger from South Riding, Va. — collected Paxten Aaronson’s exquisite pass and scored. Paredes, who plays for Wolfsburg in the German Bundesliga, struck again in the 75th minute for his first two-goal performance of his international career.

The last time the U.S. men advanced to the Olympic knockout stage was 2000 in Sydney, with a roster including teenager Landon Donovan, over-aged selection Brad Friedel in goal, his backup Tim Howard and third-year pro Ben Olsen.

The Americans won their group and defeated Japan before losing to Spain in the semifinals and Chile in the bronze medal match.

Between then and now, their only Olympic appearance came in 2008 for group-stage elimination in Beijing. Regular failure at regional qualifying in 2004 and 2012 through 2020 both frustrated and embarrassed U.S. soccer officials, who see the Olympics as an opportunity to expose national team prospects to international competition.

While the United States watched from home, Mexico won the gold medal in 2012 and 2021, and Honduras made the semifinals in 2016.

In this cycle, the U.S. team dominated the 2022 under-20 tournament, which served as the Olympic qualifying competition.

After starting the same group in the first two matches, U.S. Coach Marko Mitrovic made two changes Tuesday. Maximilian Dietz replaced midfielder Gianluca Busio, who was not in uniform after aggravating a hamstring shortly after scoring in the first half against New Zealand.

Griffin Yow, another former D.C. United homegrown winger from Clifton, Va., replaced Duncan McGuire on the front line.

Playing in the Olympics for the first time since 1968, Guinea dropped one-goal decisions to both New Zealand and France and entered Tuesday with an outside chance of claiming a quarterfinal berth. A former French colony, Guinea enjoyed the louder support from the small crowd in this city 40 miles southwest of Lyon.

Yow quickly put his stamp on the match with tricky, piercing runs on the left side. The pressure on Guinea’s back line grew.

Mihailovic — one of three over-aged MLS players on the 18-man squad — shattered the deadlock by hooking a right-footed, 22-yard free kick into the top near corner for his second goal in two matches.

Later, the Americans team used perfect timing and execution to score in transition. Aaronson and Paredes synchronized their interaction to the millisecond. As Paredes made his run past the left back, Aaronson threaded the ball through a channel. Paredes took a touch into the box and placed a low shot into the far corner.

Just before the break, Paredes set up Yow for a one-timer that tagged the near post.

In the second half, the U.S. defense absorbed Guinea’s pressure, blocked shots and intervened when danger surfaced. Starting their third game in seven days — and with a quarterfinal berth all but clinched — Aaronson and Mihailovic were replaced in the 52nd and 66th minutes, respectively.

Paredes remained in the match, and in the 75th minute, cut inside and blasted a 16-yard left-footed shot that took a slight deflection and splashed into the near side of the net.

Patrick Schulte preserved the shutout with an impressive leaping save in stoppage time.