United States get past Ecuador, 2-1

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photo by TNS

The United States’ Clint Dempsey (8) celebrates after making a feed to Gyasi Zardes against Ecuador during the Copa America quarterfinals at CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Thursday, June 16, 2016. USA advanced, 2-1. (Sy Bean/Seattle Times/TNS)

United States and Ecuador played in the great town of Seattle last night. This game was very important for the US because, first it was a quarterfinal game. Also, it was a confidence builder for them to continue with their style of play in the Copa America. The United States came out with a close win by beating Ecuador 2-1.

This game was full of attacking plays. The US came out in the first 10 minutes of the game with an attacking play style. Bobby Wood, forward, made an impact in this game because Ecuador’s defensive line would let him create space behind them. This gave Wood and the US opportunities to shoot on Ecuador’s goalkeeper, Alexander Dominguez. Clint Dempsey, forward, scored in the 22nd minute with a header, and gave an assist to Gyasi Zardes in the 65th minute.

United States and Ecuador were very aggressive with each other. The game started off being attacking, but once the second half started that’s when the cards started coming out. Both, Jermaine Jones (US midfielder) and Antonio Valencia (Ecuador midfielder) received red cards early in the 2nd. Also, both Bobby Wood and Alejandro Bedoya reached their yellow card limit, and won’t be able to compete in the semi final game in Texas.

Despite of having bad challenges in some parts of the game, the United States showed their passion against Ecuador. They showed the fans that they aren’t the underdogs in this tournament. Players like John Brooks and Brad Guzan gave the US support when they needed it due to their fitness while playing with 10 men in the 2nd half.

Now the US goes onto the semi finals in Texas. They will either play Argentina or Venezuela. That quarter final game takes place tomorrow. So, the US gets to relax, and back to focus on the playing styles of either team.