You could not have asked for a better evening for the U.S. national team’s pair of teenagers, Josh Sargent and Tim Weah.
Both players linked up well and were the best two players on the field for either the USMNT or Bolivia in the contest, and the 18-year-olds were each rewarded with a goal.
After Walker Zimmerman got the USMNT in front, scoring off a corner delivered by Joe Corona, it was Sargent who doubled the lead in the second half.
The Werder Bremen forward pressured substitute Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe into a poor pass that he did well to intercept and bring down with his back to goal.
In on goal all alone, Sargent’s low shot was partially blocked by Lampe, but still found the back of the net to make it 2-0.
It was a goal in not only his first senior team start, but also in his first cap for the USMNT.
The score was the feather in the cap, but Sargent played well, excelling in his combination play with Weah.
Meanwhile, Weah was the most active player early, seemingly involved with everything the USMNT did in attack. His pace terrorized Bolivia on the right, getting out wide multiple times and setting up team-mates for chances.
Weah also had the best opportunity of the game early on, as Rubio Rubin played him in and he turned on the afterburners to get in behind. Reminiscent of a chance he had on his Paris Saint-Germain debut, Weah was unable to beat Bolivia starter Guillermo Vizcarra, who made the kick save.
There was a scary moment where it looked like Weah would have to come off after a knee-on-knee collision, but after Julian Green was summoned, Weah managed to stay on.
The 18-year-old remained active throughout the first half and was finally rewarded with his first senior team goal in the second half as he got on the end of an Antonee Robinson cross and did not miss. Weah would exit with Sargent a few minutes later.
It was not the greatest of opposition as Bolivia struggled all evening, generating little going forward, and frequently losing both teens as they made runs off one another.
But it was exactly what fans of the USMNT, who wanted to see some hope for the future after the nation’s World Cup qualifying disappointment, no doubt wanted to see.