U.S. soccer fans cheer team’s Copa America advance

U.S. men’s soccer players are running with the big boys now: Saturday night the U.S. team beat Paraguay 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of Copa America, the soccer tournament that includes the best teams in the Western hemisphere.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the games, which the U.S. is hosting for the first time. Teams are playing matches at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., Soldier Field in Chicago, and other major venues. The tournament includes 16 national teams placed in groups of four. Officials placed the U.S. team with Colombia, the highest scoring team in the last World Cup, even though it doesn’t have much defense; Costa Rica, a team known to perform at a world-class level under pressure; and Paraguay, a team ranked 4 points higher than the U.S. in soccer power ratings.

To advance, U.S. players had to beat two of their three opponents.

“I want to see them risk things,” U.S. coach Jürgen Klinsmann said. “Let’s go for it. Because if you’re not going for it, sooner or later they’re going to break you down.”

Just don’t lose to Colombia, fans pleaded. But on June 3, the U.S. did lose 2-0, with Colombian star James Rodriguez leading a salsa dance after he scored one of his team’s goals. Critics thought the U.S. team would soon be eliminated, but it pulled off an unexpected win against Costa Rica, 4-0, and was optimistic heading into Saturday’s game against Paraguay.

Early in the game, three Paraguayans stole the ball and bolted from the midfield into an empty U.S. half. But 50,000 fans in Philadelphia cheered as U.S. center back John Brooks threw himself forward, slide-tackling a Paraguayan to steal the ball back, feet from the goal. Minutes later, U.S. forward Clint Dempsey got a cross pass from Gyasi Zardes and fired it home.

But in the second half, defender DeAndre Yedlin earned a second yellow card after a stupidly rough tackle on a Paraguayan player. After that, the U.S. only had 10 men against Paraguay’s 11. The Paraguayans, desperate for a score, pushed into the U.S. half of the field almost at will, but a physical and scrappy U.S. defense repeatedly stopped them.

In the 80th minute, a Paraguayan dribbled through a maze of U.S. defenders to smash the ball into keeper Brad Guzan’s chest. The ball rebounded and Guzan caught it again. In the 88th minute, Paraguay scored, but the referee called an offside. In stoppage time, Brooks forced a dangerous counterattack wide.

In the end, the U.S. team got the job done. The quarterfinal match, Thursday in Seattle, will probably be against five-time world champion Brazil, which will be heavily favored.