On This Day in 2018, Young Americans Signal New Era with Convincing Win Against Bolivia
As the 2018 World Cup approached, the United States Men's National Team found itself in unfamiliar territory—on the outside looking in. The stunning 2-1 loss to Trinidad and Tobago in October 2017 ended the Americans' streak of seven consecutive World Cup appearances, prompting soul-searching throughout U.S. Soccer. But on May 28, 2018, at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania, a new generation of American talent offered a glimpse of a promising future.
The fallout from missing the World Cup had been severe. Bruce Arena resigned just days after the Trinidad debacle, and by spring 2018, interim coach Dave Sarachan was tasked with beginning the long rebuilding process. Rather than relying on veterans of failed campaigns past, Sarachan turned decisively toward youth.
"As I've talked about throughout this process, the theme is to offer opportunity to this younger generation of talented players that have potential down the road with the program," Sarachan said before the Bolivia match. "We've had first-time call-ups in every camp since November, and this is another extension of that."
This approach starkly contrasts the situation described in Bruce Arena's forthcoming book, "What's Wrong With Us: A Coach's Blunt Take on the State of American Soccer After a Lifetime on the Touchline," scheduled for release just before the World Cup. In it, Arena warned that without significant changes in leadership and player development, the U.S. might face similar disappointments in the future.
The youth movement had already shown promise in March when an experimental American lineup secured a 1-0 friendly win against Paraguay in Cary, North Carolina. Bobby Wood converted a penalty kick just before halftime after Tyler Adams had been fouled in the box, and the young Americans held on for the victory.
Sarachan doubled down on his commitment to youth for the Bolivia friendly, selecting a lineup with an average age of just 22 years and 160 days. Four teenagers started, including Borussia Dortmund's Christian Pulisic (19), Schalke's Weston McKennie (19), Paris Saint-Germain's Tim Weah (18) and Werder Bremen's Josh Sargent (18). Four players – goalkeeper Alex Bono (24), defenders Erik Palmer-Brown (21) and Antonee Robinson (20) and the 18-year-old Sargent – were making their senior debuts. Nottingham Forest's Eric Lichaj, with a relatively veteran 15 caps, wore the captain's armband.
Against a weak Bolivian side, the Americans were energetic, ambitious, and at times, carefree. Their technical work didn't always click, with touches occasionally off and partnerships still developing. But their individual quality ultimately shone through. Zimmerman, at 25, was a relative veteran among this group, and he opened the scoring in the 37th minute when he rose highest to nod in Corona's corner kick from 11 yards – his first international goal in just his third appearance.
The second half brought the evening's most memorable moments, courtesy of the teenage duo of Sargent and Weah – the first-ever U.S. starters born in the 2000s. Sargent, who had yet to play a professional first-team match, displayed remarkable awareness and confidence in the 52nd minute. As Bolivian goalkeeper Carlos Lampe exchanged passes with defender Luis Haquin, Sargent applied pressure between them. When Lampe attempted to chip the ball over him, the teenager turned, intercepted the pass, and calmly finished past the embarrassed keeper.
"I saw him start to chip the ball over, so I started backing up a little bit, and had a good touch to turn it around and good shot," Sargent explained afterward.
Seven minutes later, Robinson showcased his speed down the left flank, beating a defender and delivering a one-hop cross into the penalty area. Weah timed his run perfectly and volleyed home with his right foot for his first international goal.
"Once I saw the service come in, I was like, I got to get there. I got to get this. This is my opportunity to get the goal," an exuberant Weah said post-match. "I got it, and it was just an amazing feeling. I love this country, and scoring for this country in front of all these fans was such an amazing thing."
By the final whistle, six players had earned their first caps, with Matthew Olosunde and Keaton Parks coming off the bench to join the debutants. Even Pulisic, despite playing on tired legs after a long Bundesliga season, showed flashes of the leadership that would make him the centerpiece of the American rebuild. The Pennsylvania native received a warm reception from the 11,882 fans in attendance, playing for the senior national team in his home state for the first time.
The 3-0 victory marked the fourth match under Sarachan, with the Americans posting a 2-0-2 record while recording three consecutive shutouts. Rather than preparing for the World Cup in Russia, the USMNT was taking early steps toward Qatar 2022.
"We have a wider pool of good, young players than we have had for many years, but they are still young," Sarachan cautioned after the match. "We want to be optimistic and there is hope, but we have to let this play out before we start anointing this generation."
With the Bolivia match behind them, the Americans would head to Europe for friendlies against Ireland on June 2 in Dublin and France on June 9 in Lyon. Sarachan planned significant roster changes for those European tests, with only about a dozen players continuing from the Bolivia squad.
While American fans would watch the 2018 World Cup without their team for the first time since 1986, the performance against Bolivia provided genuine cause for optimism. In Sargent and Weah, the U.S. had discovered two teenage talents who joined Pulisic as the face of a new generation. And in players like Robinson, McKennie, and others, the foundation was being laid for what U.S. Soccer hoped would be a successful qualification campaign for 2022.
"They're reading a lot about themselves and so on," Sarachan noted about his young team. "They're still steps. If you want to get to A, you still start at D and then to C, then to B. We're very quick to jump them up into the A category. I think that's a process that we have to manage, with expectations, with a lot of noise on the outside."
On this night in Chester, Pennsylvania, that journey from D toward A had taken a promising step forward.