A starlet and a veteran excelled in attack as the US surged into the final Concacaf qualifying round for the 2018 World Cup.
As exciting as it was to see Christian Pulisic underline his promise with a productive display in his first international start, the Americans will also be encouraged by Jozy Altidore’s two-goal showing.
Disjointed for much of the first half, the American forwards produced some increasingly sophisticated moves as the match wore on. The win in Jacksonville on Tuesday night saw the US leapfrog previously-unbeaten Trinidad & Tobago and secure first place in group C.
That means they will face Mexico at home in November in their first fixture of the decisive “Hex” phase, which features six teams and sees the top three qualify for Russia and the fourth-placed side face a play-off against an Asian nation.
#TheHex schedule is set for the #USMNT. First up: #USAvMEX at home on Nov. 11. #RoadToRussia pic.twitter.com/F0jHgBBX6s
— U.S. Soccer (@ussoccer) September 7, 2016
With Pulisic rampant on the left wing in a performance brimming with vigour and good judgment – the controlled energy you might expect of a player in his prime, rather than one whose career has just begun – the oft-injured Altidore became the Americans’ all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifiers as Jurgen Klinsmann’s side convincingly built on a 1-0 halftime lead.
The coach made six changes from Friday’s 6-0 away win over St Vincent & the Grenadines – two forced since Matt Besler returned home after his wife gave birth on the day that he scored his first international goal against St Vincent, and DeAndre Yedlin was suspended.
Captain Michael Bradley retuned from a ban and Tim Howard made his 32nd World Cup qualifying appearance, grabbing Kasey Keller’s goalkeeping record.
T&T’s 2-2 draw with Guatemala on Friday night, a couple of hours after the US thrashed St Vincent, defused most of the drama from this contest. The result put T&T through and all but guaranteed progress for the Americans, barring a loss and Guatemala overturning a goal differential of 12 while crushing St Vincent. (As it turned out, they won 9-3. Really.)
Though Klinsmann – also responsible for big-picture youth development in his other role as technical director – has been cautious about deploying inexperienced players in meaningful matches, last week Pulisic made an irresistible case to win his eighth cap from the start on Tuesday, six months after his debut.
Introduced against St Vincent as a second-half substitute along with Sacha Kljestan, the pair soon shredded a demoralised and limited defence and the Borussia Dortmund forward provided two goals and an assist.
Pulisic, who turns 18 later this month, duly became the youngest player to start a World Cup qualifier for the USMNT. He looked liked he belonged, albeit in a low-pressure setting, with a modest crowd at EverBank Stadium and opponents who were bright going forward but supine at the back, allowing the teenager plenty of space to run at goal and dispatch a succession of dangerous crosses.
Pulisic did not score, but he could hardly have come closer after 31 minutes. Altidore made a powerful run down the right and rolled a cross along the six-yard box which was met by the onrushing forward, whose shot hit the near post, then the far post, and bounced away.
Largely restricted to errant shots from half-chances, T&T probably felt they had done enough to merit going in level at the break, but after 43 minutes some neat American interplay inside the area led to a botched clearance that hit Kljestan, who promptly poked the ball in the net.
Six minutes into the second half, Marvin Phillip saved well from Altidore. At the other end, Kenwyne Jones flailed a shot dismally wide when clear on the right side of the penalty area.
With almost an hour gone and T&T a growing threat against a back line that never looked fully secure, the US scored their second when Altidore collected the ball on the edge of the box and steered a sly finish low beyond Phillip. The 26-year-old Toronto FC man quickly had another, an adroit cross from Pulisic giving him a simple task at the far post.
With 71 minutes gone, Pulisic almost finished a move he started, but Phillip saved his shot and Paul Arriola, a substitute, found the net on the rebound.
Clean through in stoppage time, Altidore blew his chance for a hat-trick, chipping the ball over the bar, but it hardly mattered as the US impressively maintained their unbeaten home record in World Cup qualifiers since 2001 and handed the visitors their first loss of the stage. The Hex brings something of a re-set, but there was a fluency and potency in attack in this match that the US will want to replicate in the coming months as they seek to secure their place in Russia.
