The U.S. men’s national team is looking to make some waves, playing at home in Copa América 2024 and the Stars and Stripes open group play Sunday (5 p.m. ET, Fox/Univision) against Bolivia at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The No. 2-ranked side in the CONCACAF rankings are in Group C with Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay, which is favored to win the group.
Bolivia currently sits ninth in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying rankings. The two sides last met in a 2018 friendly, which the U.S. won 3-0.
The USMNT is in Copa América for a fifth time, having finished in fourth twice in 1995 and again at the Copa América Centenario in 2016 which was also held in the United States.
Dates: Sunday, June 23
Location: AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas
Time: 6 p.m. ET
TV channel: FS1
Streaming: Fubo, DirecTV, VPN
Even with Tyler Adams back in the lineup, Pulisic will wear the armband.
When he first wore it over five years ago, he was an introvert somewhat ill-prepared for the role. But he has absolutely grown into it, and takes pride in the responsibility. Teammates listen to him. They follow him. He is, in a way, finally “Captain America.”
USMNT is ready to prove it pic.twitter.com/IvIYDmD3aN
Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 23, 2024
More of this to come today from Pulisic? pic.twitter.com/MkKiulqyn6
Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 23, 2024
AT&T Stadium will not be anywhere close to full, especially at the 400 level. But fears that it would be alarmingly empty seem to be unfounded.
And this will be a pro-U.S. crowd, for three main reasons:
1. There are far fewer Bolivian Americans than, say, Colombian Americans or Peruvian Americans less than 200,000, per U.S. government data.
2. Soccer, generally, is not quite as central to Bolivian national identity as it is in, say, Argentina or Uruguay.
3. Related to No. 2, the men’s national team hasn’t been all that good. Not many fans would travel all the way here from Bolivia for the Copa América. And not many have come from within the U.S., especially given the exorbitant ticket prices.
All of that said … never doubt the ability of Latino soccer fans to be loud.
From Yahoo Sports senior writer Henry’s Bushnell’s USMNT preview:
The U.S. mens national team will get its first formidable, official test since the 2022 World Cup at the 2024 Copa América, a stateside soccer extravaganza that begins Thursday and, as U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams said, feels big.
It’s not quite the World Cup, Adams added earlier this month. But I think it’s the next best thing.
Its a rare opportunity for the USMNT to confront A-list opponents in meaningful matches, and measure progress ahead of the 2026 World Cup (also stateside).
Its big enough, therefore, for a grand, all-encompassing, World Cup-style preview 20 questions and answers about the USMNT as it prepares for this pan-American Copa. [Read the full preview here.]
This is an opener. No opener can make or break any team in a three-game group stage. That being said, though …
Bolivia is bad. Bad enough that it’s necessary to explain why they’re bad. Anything less than a win for the U.S. today would be a massive letdown. Even a draw would put extreme pressure on the players and head coach Gregg Berhalter entering their second match against Panama on Thursday in Atlanta.
(They’d still be comfortably favored to advance from the group, but the vibes would be, uh, quite bad.)
Less than an hour away from @USMNT’s Copa América opener pic.twitter.com/tAjH61buJP
Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 23, 2024
Oh, and hello from JerryWorld again.Ill be covering USMNT-Bolivia live, with analysis and observations, right here: https://t.co/3jv9qtEZmzVamos. pic.twitter.com/Z7OPnWns2y
Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) June 23, 2024
The USMNT has been through it since the 2022 World Cup Next chapter begins tonight (6pm ET) at Copa América. pic.twitter.com/IwdgnTvIzv
Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 23, 2024
Once upon a time, every USMNT lineup release was suspenseful.
Nowadays, they’re pretty straightforward. Today’s starting 11 is exactly what you’d expect:
USMNT starting lineup for its Copa América opener vs. Bolivia:Matt TurnerJoe ScallyChris RichardsTim ReamAntonee RobinsonTyler AdamsWeston McKennieGio ReynaTim WeahFolarin BalogunChristian Pulisic
Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) June 23, 2024
The only question mark coming into today was whether Tyler Adams was fit enough to start. He is. The question now becomes whether Adams can go 60, 75 or even 90 minutes.
Here’s the official team sheet from CONMEBOL, the tournament organizers:
Hello and welcome to Yahoo Sports and our live coverage of the USMNT’s Copa América opener vs. Bolivia.
The USMNT kicks off their #CopaAmerica journey tonight How far can they go? pic.twitter.com/S876W6dVgZ
Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 23, 2024