On This Day in 2016, Americans Launch Copa America Preparations with Convincing Win Over Puerto Rico
As the United States prepared to host its most significant soccer tournament since the 1994 World Cup, few could have predicted that a friendly match in Puerto Rico would mark the beginning of several notable international careers. The U.S. Men's National Team began its Copa America Centenario preparations with a 3-1 victory over Puerto Rico at Juan Ramón Loubriel Stadium in Bayamón on May 22—a seemingly routine result that, in retrospect, offered early glimpses of talent that would shape American soccer for years to come.
With then-coach Jurgen Klinsmann fielding a hybrid roster—mixing several Copa-bound players with others called in specifically for the training camp while MLS regulars completed weekend club duties—the match represented the first careful step toward a tournament that would test the program's progress on home soil.
The historic first-ever meeting between the U.S. and Puerto Rico delivered several memorable moments, most notably a dream debut for 21-year-old Paul Arriola, who notched both a goal and an assist despite not being named to the final 23-man Copa America roster. Looking back now, this match is the launching point for Arriola, who would become a fixture in the national team setup over the following years.
"He did well, and he knows he has a huge learning curve still ahead of him," Klinsmann said prophetically of the Tijuana midfielder at the time. Arriola became the first American to score in his debut since Juan Agudelo against South Africa in November 2010 and the first with both a goal and assist since Landon Donovan against Mexico in 2000.
On a sweltering afternoon with 88 degrees of heat and 58 percent humidity, the Americans quickly established dominance, controlling nearly 80 percent of possession against their 152nd-ranked opponents. The breakthrough came in the 20th minute when Fulham defender Tim Ream scored his first international goal in 21 appearances for the national team. After Puerto Rico goalkeeper Matthew Sanchez parried Alfredo Morales' powerful 30-yard effort, Ream drove the rebound home with an angled left-footed shot from outside the six-yard box.
The lead doubled in the 34th minute when debutant Arriola, a California native who plays professionally in Mexico, set up Bobby Wood with a perfectly weighted through ball. Fresh off a record-setting season in Germany's second division that earned him a transfer to Bundesliga side Hamburg, Wood took two touches to round defender Emmanuel D'Andrea before cleverly chipping Sanchez from seven yards out. The goal marked Wood's fifth in 18 national team appearances.
The celebration was somewhat marred by controversy, as two Puerto Rican players were down injured when the U.S. continued play, drawing boos from the home crowd for not kicking the ball out of play.
Puerto Rico responded in the 42nd minute when 21-year-old Luis Betancur capitalized on a Ream turnover from a throw-in. Joseph Marrero's incisive pass split the American defense, allowing Betancur, who played collegiate soccer at Florida International University, to fire a 23-yard shot over Brad Guzan's outstretched hand, cutting the deficit to 2-1 heading into halftime.
Klinsmann made several changes to start the second period, including bringing on veteran Tim Howard for Guzan—only Howard's second appearance as a substitute among his 108 international caps.
The Americans restored their two-goal advantage in the 56th minute through the impressive Arriola. The sequence began when Michael Orozco made a pinpoint 30-yard pass that Alejandro Bedoya, captaining the U.S. for the first time, ran onto before dribbling toward the end line. Bedoya's perfect cross found Arriola alone at the far post, allowing him to tap in from two yards with his left foot.
The match also provided international debuts for 25-year-old forward Fabrice Picault, who replaced Wood in the 71st minute, while Matt Miazga and Emerson Hyndman earned their second caps. Since that tournament, Julian Green, the young Bayern Munich prospect who scored at the 2014 World Cup, made his first appearance for the national team.
At the time, few observers could have predicted the divergent paths that awaited the participants in this seemingly routine, friendly encounter. Of the starters against Puerto Rico, only Guzan, right back DeAndre Yedlin, central defender John Brooks, and Bedoya would feature in the Copa America opener against Colombia on June 3 in Santa Clara, California.
Following the Puerto Rico match, the team headed to Frisco, Texas, where they were joined by defenders Fabian Johnson and Geoff Cameron, both recovering from leg injuries, for a friendly against Ecuador. The Americans concluded their pre-tournament schedule against Bolivia in Kansas City before embarking on their Copa America journey.
The subsequent Copa America Centenario featured 16 teams from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL competing in 10 U.S. cities from June 3-26. The U.S. was drawn into Group A alongside Colombia, Costa Rica, and Paraguay.
For Ream, who scored his first international goal in Puerto Rico but didn't make the Copa America roster, the match represented just a brief chapter in what would become a lengthy international career extending well into the next World Cup cycle. Arriola's memorable debut foreshadowed his emergence as a national team regular who would earn over 40 caps in the years that followed.
What began as a routine friendly in Bayamón became an intriguing snapshot of American soccer at a moment caught between the promise of a new generation and the final chapters of the Klinsmann era.