June 11, (THEWILL) – The United States men’s national team began its CONCACAF Nations League championship defence with a straightforward 5-0 victory over Grenada early on Saturday.
Jesus Ferreira, who is vying to be the USMNT’s main striker at the 2022 World Cup, tied a team record with four goals, albeit against mediocre opposition, to assist his cause in the USMNT’s final meeting on American soil this calendar year.
Despite dominating the ball and the chances, it took the Americans 43 minutes to score, with an alert Ferreira scoring from inside the area. After a string of misses in front of goal, Ferreira was able to turn things around with a prolific performance that, while a wonderful stat sheet for him, came against a team ranked 170th in the world.
He joins Archie Stark (1925), Aldo Donelli (1934), Joe-Max Moore (1993), and Landon Donovan (2003) as the fifth American player to score four goals in a game. With crucial players like Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams rested, the United States was able to control the tempo of the game throughout the night.
The visitors came nowhere near scoring, and goalkeeper Matt Turner did not have to make a single save allowing the reigning champions extend their home unbeaten streak to 26 games, tying the previous mark established from 2013 to 2015.
The Americans will next face El Salvador on Matchday 2 on Tuesday, in what is expected to be a far more difficult challenge. After failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the United States will compete in November, facing Wales on the 21st England on the 25th and Iran four days after.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
