Pulisic gets 1st goal as US tops Bolivia 4-0 in Copa tuneup
Six weeks after becoming the youngest foreigner to score in the Bundesliga, 17-year-old Christian Pulisic became the youngest American in the modern era to get a goal for the national team.
Pulisic capped the match by scoring in his third national team appearance, Gyasi Zardes had his first two-goal international game and the United States routed Bolivia 4-0 in an exhibition Saturday night to sweep its three warmup matches for next month’s Copa America.
“I’m just living life in the moment,” Pulisic said. “It’s cool stats and stuff are cool, but I just want to win this tournament coming up.”
Zardes scored in the 26th and 52nd minutes around defender John Brooks’ goal in the 37th. Pulisic, who left his home in Hershey, Pennsylvania, to sign with Borussia Dortmund in January 2015, connected in the 69th minute. At 17 years, 253 days, he bettered the mark set by Juan Agudelo (17-359) against South Africa in 2010.
Pulisic made his Bundesliga debut on January 30 and had 12 first-team appearances, scoring against Hamburg on April 17 and Stuttgart six days later. He made his first US appearance as an 81st-minute substitute in a World Cup qualifier against Guatemala on March 29.
“The guys have taken me in. They’re all really nice, and it’s helped me a lot that I’ve been with them a few weeks now,” he said. “It’s getting more and more comfortable. I’m making more friends.”
Pulisic scored after Jermaine Jones forced a turnover. Jones exchanged passes with Darlington Nagbe, who ran past three Bolivians and rolled the ball into Pulisic’s path. The teenager slid the ball past goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra’s from right of the penalty spot, causing many in the crowd of 8,894 to chant his name.
At the Copa America, the US plays fourth-ranked Colombia on Friday in the opener at Santa Clara, California, then faces Costa Rica four days later at Chicago and closes the first round versus Paraguay on June 11 Philadelphia. at