With a goal and an assist for the United States in a 4-1 victory over New Zealand, midfielder Djordie Mihailovic paced the attack on Saturday, but as one of three overaged players on this roster, it took quite a set of circumstances for him to even make the trip to Paris.
A tweener who has had spells with the United States senior men’s national team, Mihailovic has run into injury issues when he was set to get actual runs with the senior side despite his club form being impressive. Needing to leave AZ Alkmaar to be closer to family, Mihailovic made a move to the Colorado Rapids, returning to Major League Soccer in January of this year.
Finding his form with the Rapids, the versatile midfielder has registered 10 goals and six assists in MLS play this season. He almost had his Olympic moment against France when a quick shot from outside the box crashed off the top of the bar but he made sure that his penalty chance would be driven home to provide the United States with a base to build on Saturday.
It was the first goal for the United States men at the Olympics in 16 years and it’s fitting that it was scored from the penalty spot just like their last goal in 2008 which came courtesy of Sasha Klejsten. Mihailovic followed up his goal by immediately becoming the provider for Walker Zimmerman.
Without the circumstances that led him back to MLS, Mihailovic may have been on pre-season training with AZ instead of with the United States similar to Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman whose call-ups were denied to PSV. It’s a moment that shows how soccer can work in weird ways.
The CBS Sports Golazo Network presents Call It What You Want, a weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies, Brian McBride and Tony Meola cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.
Familiar with head coach Marko Mitrovic from his time with the Chicago Fire as an assistant, Mihailovic has been a critical part of this Olympic squad and he will continue to be leaned upon against Guinea on Tuesday. With a chance to advance to the knockout stage of the Olympic games on the line in that clash, Mihailovic will be relied upon yet again.
While this is a talented team, the overaged players are here to bring stability and set an example. So far, Mihailovic has done just that, and with a chance to help lead the United States men to their first-ever Olympic medal, this could be an opportunity for him to return to knocking on the senior team door as well.
How to watch
- Date: Tuesday, July 30 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Location: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard — Saint-Etienne, France
- TV: USA | Live stream: Fubo (try for free)
Advancement scenarios
- With a victory against Guinea: The United States will qualify for the knockout round. While France or New Zealand can still win the group, if one of them were to win their match against the other, it would see the United States still finish second via goal difference.
- With a draw against Guinea: The United States will only qualify for the knockout round if New Zealand lose or draw while still having a worse goal difference than the United States.
- With a loss against Guinea: Things get quite tough for the United States. They have a goal difference of zero so losing by one goal to Guinea while New Zealand also lose to France would bring it to the second tiebreaker in all matches which is goals scored in the group stage. The United States would only advance in that 1-0 loss scenario due to scoring more goals than Guinea but losing by more than one goal would see Guinea advance on goal difference and New Zealand picking up a point would see them jump ahead on points.
