The U.S. men’s national team, who visited Grenada on Friday night, defeated the Defense 5-0 in a simple, one – sided match in their Confederations Cup League title. Jesus Ferreira, USMND’s opening striker at the 2022 World Cup, equaled a team record by scoring four goals despite fierce opposition.
The red, white and blue, who play in the finals on American soil this calendar year, outnumbered the crowd 25-3 in a match that sometimes looks more like a fight than the official match for Greg Berholder’s team.
Shockingly, despite dominating the ball and chances, the United States needed 43 minutes to score, with Ferreira finishing with care from inside the box.
With so many mistakes in front of goal in the latter, Ferreira was able to change that bad form with a great game, while a better state sheet for him came against the 170th team in the world. He is the fifth player to score four goals in a game for the United States, along with Archie Stark (1925), Aldo Donelli (1934), Joe-Max Moore (1993) and London Donovan (2003).
With key players like Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams at rest, the United States was able to set the pace of the game throughout the night. Viewers did not come close to the score, recording 0.10 xG in three shots. America finished with 4.08 xG in its 25 shots. The Americans also had 66.6 percent, not conceding a corner and Matt Turner not saving a single goal.
Matching the previous record of 2013-15, they amassed an unbeaten run on 26 home soil.
When facing El Salvador in Match 2 on Tuesday, the Americans are now turning their attention to which figures will be the toughest test.
The United States will play in the World Cup in November after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. USMNT will play Wales on November 21 and England on November 25 (the day after Thanksgiving). 29 also faces Iran.
USMNT Player Ratings
|
(GK) Matt Turner |
90 | Not tested as Grenada took three shots with zero towards the target. One of the easiest matches he could wear a national team shirt. |
7 |
|
(DEF) Anthony Robinson |
60 | Created only one opportunity but it is not a bar because clean paper is very important. It’s good to see that Robinson can be very conservative, bombing only when needed. |
7 |
|
(DEF) Aaron Long |
45 | Carter-Vickers don’t have to do much as they are the dominant defender at night. The first half looked neat, but was held back as Berholder continued to test his core pairs. |
7 |
|
(DEF) Cameron Carter-Vickers |
90 | Playing in front of him, he made five interruptions during the match and won most of his air battles. While this was not one of the toughest defensive challenges he faced, it was a good improvement from Carter-Vickers after being transferred to the Celtic official the previous day. | 8 |
|
(DEF) Reggie Canon |
90 | As Canon seemed to be heading for the World Cup, he collected three interceptions and made good progress. With his diversity, he is good at being around in any situation. | 7 |
|
(MID) Colin Acosta |
90 | Controlled the game from midfield. Acosta was everywhere during the match, helping the United States wear Grenada until the ball hit the back of the net. On a day when a lot of midfield regulars rested, Acosta shone. | 9 |
|
(MID) Luca de la Torre |
71 | Is this the party coming out for de la Torre? Despite the lack of help, he showed excellent play against the Spice Boys in pushing the pace and controlling possessions. De la Torre It is important to have these dominant and strong teams, but it is good to see that there is potential. | 8 |
|
(MID) Weston McKenney |
45 | Goals were not in the game when they really started to roll, but were instrumental in helping Grenada wear out, creating two chances and the team retaining the ball in the first half. | 7 |
|
(FWD) Jordan Morris |
60 | A great opportunity was created and some good attack chances were missed. When the USMNT turned the match into target training, Morris did not interact with the other members of the team when the minutes were short. | 6 |
|
(FWD) Paul Ariola |
90 | He created the team with three more chances to end in a goal for his FC Dallas teammate Ferreira. Ariola made a nice change during the match and did all the right things on the offensive and defensive side. | 7 |
|
(FWD) Jesus Ferreira |
90 | What a way to break the scoring drought. Ferreira scored four goals because he was in the right place at the right time, in almost every game to show he was performing better for the national team. While it was hard to take much from the competition due to the quality of the opponent, Ferreira also did not have much to do. | 10 |
|
George Bello |
Robinson, (’60) | I did what I was asked to do in specific minutes, but did nothing wonderful | 6 |
| Walker Zimmerman | Long, (’45) | Relaxed as always, Zimmerman continued things defensively after the match. He did not win any of the headers, but had two clearances and one interception as he entered. | 7 |
| Brendan Aaronson | Of the tower, (’71) | It didn’t take long for him to make his mark in the competition to create an assist with the only chance he got. Aaronson’s New Legs is actually a strong supporting cameo that helped break Grenada. | 8 |
| Malik Tillman | McKennie, (’45) | Officially affiliated with the United States, Tillman came in with a deep midfield toll, he showed a strong performance that showed what he could offer below the line, but at the same time how green he is. There is nothing to worry about at this point, he can be a force to be reckoned with. | 7 |
|
Christian Roldan |
Morris, (’60) | The game was already in possession once it was won. | 6 |
| Greg Berholder | 5 | Although he did not cape all he needed in the first Nations League match, it was a strong win that gave Ferreira hope after scoring four goals. It was a strong performance because the team did exactly that and scored five goals that the game plan was perfect for. | 9 |
