Copa America: USA vs Ecuador 2-1 — Full highlights, final score and more

It wasn’t a perfect performance, but it started well and ended with the USMNT headed to the semi-finals of Copa America Centenario. And when any tournament gets to the knockout rounds, that’s really all that matters.

Clint Dempsey staked the U.S. to a lead in the 22nd minute with his third goal in the tournament, and Gyasi Zardes found the net in the second half with what turned out to be the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over Ecuador in Seattle.

Both teams finished the match with 10 men after the U.S. and Ecuador each had a man sent off in a contest that got increasingly testy as it progressed. Ecuador’s coach was also sanctioned by the officials, getting sent to the locker room late in the match after people on his team’s bench appeared to throw things on the field.

There will also be personnel issues for U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann to deal with since multiple players will be missing the semi-final due to their card situations. That’s a problem that will wait a few days, though, because the USMNT and its fans will be celebrating after passing a stern test and advancing to its first Copa America semifinal in more than 20 years.

Three stars

1. Clint Dempsey – Barely involved for the first 20 minutes, he made an instant impact by heading in a nice ball from Jermaine Jones to give the USMNT a crucial lead. Also did some nice work in the box to set up the game-winner.

2. Bobby Wood – Gave the Ecuador fits with his combination of pace and strength in the first half, and was generally a handful in a way U.S. forwards often are not. He’ll be missed in the senifinal after picking up his second yellow of this Copa America.

3. Brad Guzan – Made an impressive save late in the first half that may have swung the match had he faltered. Had plenty of help from his defense (especially John Brooks), but was a commanding presence when necessary.

Highlights

Dempsey can’t do much more, can he? Great header here to get the U.S. off to a start they sorely needed.

Guzan managed to come up with this save right before the half, and it turned out to be the biggest one he’d make all night.

Could this exchange be costly? Antonio Valencia, already on a yellow, with an unnecessary kick out. But then Jermaine Jones was shown red for his response, and now he’ll miss the next U.S. match.

After Wood got the ball deep into Ecuador territory again, Dempsey got some room to wiggle in the box. And then all Gyasi Zardes had to to was tap in for a 2-0 U.S. lead.

Just to make things interesting, Ecuador found 10v10 action to its liking. Michael Arroyo, denied by Guzan earlier, wouldn’t be stopped in the 73rd minute. And that set up some nail-biting down the stretch.

Three takeaways

1. Where would the U.S. be without Wood? Dempsey has been Dempsey, but Wood has been just short of a revelation with his hold-up play and ability to get behind opposing defenders. He’ll be sorely missed in the semi-final.
2. It’s strange to think that the back line was seen to be a weakness heading into the Copa America, because the defense in front of Brad Guzan has been solid for the whole tournament so far. John Brooks has put in serious work, and DeAndre Yedlin will return on Tuesday.
3. The USMNT squad no longer goes as Michael Bradley goes. The captain hasn’t played his best all tournament, and yet the U.S. has managed to get by anyway. He’ll need to pick it up against either Argentina or Venezuela for his side to have a fighting chance.

Final Thought

Is a win a win no matter how it’s accomplished? In this case, yes. The U.S. played a fantastic team game, showing up in all areas when needed. Surely Klinsmann won’t like everything he sees when he reviews this match, but he’ll like more than he doesn’t, and with the home crowd cheering them on, who knows what his players can pull off next week?

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