After a meandering first 45 minutes, the United States made it two wins from two in the Gold Cup group stage, defeating Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 on Saturday night in Cleveland.
It had been 620 days since the U.S. was denied a place at the 2018 World Cup by Trinidad, when the Americans were defeated 2-1 on the final day of qualifying for the competition. U.S. players this week played down the notion that they’d be seeking revenge for that loss, but their victory was physical throughout and occasionally tempers flared.
The two sides exchanged chances throughout the first 40 minutes, but neither truly had an edge. But it was Aaron Long who broke the deadlock. He got his head on the end of a whipped cross from Christian Pulisic, sneaking his effort underneath goalkeeper Marvin Phillip after 41 minutes in his first of two goals on the night.
And much like the the group-stage win over Guyana on Tuesday, Gregg Berhalter’s men struggled to dictate the terms of the contest in the first half, only to gain momentum after the interval.
Twenty-one minutes into the second half, Zardes scored his second goal of the Gold Cup, when Nick Lima’s header across the box fell to the Columbus Crew forward to tap in. He added his second of the night three minutes later, shaping a shot past the outstretched arms of Phillip and into the top corner. Barely three minutes later, he was denied his hat trick twice in quick succession, first striking the woodwork and then having a header kept out by a point-blank save from Phillip.
Pulisic made it 4-0 on 73 minutes, passing the ball into the far corner after Jordan Morris picked him out in acres of space inside the area. Morris added another assist five minutes later, sending a ball across the six-yard box that Paul Arriola tapped in to make it a 5-0 lead.
Long wrapped up the scoring in the 90th minute, beating Phillip to a loose ball in the six-yard box and chesting into a gaping net.
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