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The U.S. men's national team is alive and kicking. Facing Paraguay in their last group match at Copa America, the U.S. needed at least a draw to advance to the quarterfinals. They did more and got more than that. A Clint Dempsey goal in the first half was enough, as the U.S. finished with 10 men but beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia. Combined with Costa Rica's 3-2 win over Colombia, the U.S. won Group A on goal differential.

With Paraguay needing to win the match to advance, the U.S. carefully picked out its spots to attack and created a few good chances, but it was Paraguay with a golden one early, going on a 3-on-1, which U.S. defender John Brooks would have none of.

Fortunate to not have given up a goal in that situation, the U.S. found its chance for minutes later with Dempsey scoring this goal in the 27th minute off a fine assist from Gyasi Zardes.

The hosts held on for the rest of the half, with Brad Guzan making a fantastic save from close to give the Americans all the momentum.

In the second half, the U.S. continued to look for a goal to put the match away but was cautious in the middle and at the back to not give away too much. That is until DeAndre Yedlin made every U.S. soccer fan face-palm themselves.

A man down at the back, USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann took out Dempsey and put in Michael Orozco to fill the void left by Yedlin's red, and it was clear what the mentality would be for the rest of the match.

Paraguay went all out in attack, trying to save its Copa America lives, but the team could do nothing, as Guzan was again the hero, making save after save, including two in a matter of seconds from right in front of the goal with under 10 minutes to go.

With the important victory, the U.S. finishes with six points in Group A and edges Colombia on goal differential, while likely avoiding Brazil in the quarterfinals.

LIVE BLOG


PREVIEW

When: Saturday at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

TV: FS1 and Univision Deportes

Stream: Fox Sports Go and Fox Soccer 2Go

Last time out: The United States pounded Costa Rica 4-0, while Paraguay lost to Colombia 2-1.

Where things stand: Here are the standings in Group A:

What's on the line: It's very likely that either the United States or Paraguay join Colombia in the quarterfinals. Whoever wins this match will likely be through. The United States needs at least a draw to advance, while Paraguay would go through with a win as long as Costa Rica doesn't crush Colombia to make up the goal differential.

Is Paraguay any good? The team has talent under manager Ramon Diaz, and the quality has shown in World Cup Qualifying, losing just one of its first six matches, but there is a lack of speed and creativity in attack that has resulted in the team getting just one point from its first two matches. It is a talented team but one the U.S. should get a result from.

Early event: Keep an eye on what happens early in this contest. The first two matches for the U.S. have seen momentum established by a huge event early on, with Cristian Zapata's goal for Colombia giving Los Cafeteros the early momentum and the penalty kick against Costa Rica kick-starting the United States' fine performance against Costa Rica. Will it happen again?

Projected starting XI: USA - Guzan; Johnson, Brooks, Cameron, Yedlin; Bradley, Jones, Bedoya; Dempsey, Wood, Zardes; Paraguay - Villar; Da Silva, Gomez, Samudio, Valdez; Almiron, Ortiz, Da Motta; Benitez, Sanabria, Ayala.

Prediction: USA 2, Paraguay 2.

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