US exact revenge on Trinidad
U.S. forward Paul Arriola, right, plays the ball against Trinidad and Tobago defender Aubrey David during the second half of their CONCACAF Gold Cup match ...
Los Angeles: The US kicked their Gold Cup campaign into high gear by steamrolling Trinidad and Tobago 6-0 on Saturday, avenging a 2017 defeat that sent the Americans crashing out of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
In the day's other Group D match, Panama defeated Guyana 4-2.
The US was not only seeking to advance to the next round of the Concacaf Gold Cup, but redemption for that 2-1 loss in their last meeting which sent shockwaves around the soccer world.
The 2017 Gold Cup champion US opened their 2019 campaign with a 4-0 win over Guyana. They stepped up their attack against Trinidad on Saturday night, scoring five goals in the final 24 minutes of the contest at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
Gyasi Zardes and Aaron Long each scored twice and Zach Steffen stopped three shots for the shutout for the Americans, who had just three players in their lineup who played in that stunning upset two years ago.
One of those was Christian Pulisic who scored in the 73rd minute. The other two were Paul Arriola and Michael Bradley. Arriola also scored against Trinidad.
"The first half set up the second half," said US coach Gregg Berhalter. "We wanted to keep them moving. We felt our fitness would have an effect on them.
"A slight adjustment we made was dropping a right winger down into the space. When we did that it had a positive effect on the match. It created space in the midfield."
Berhalter started the same lineup Saturday that he used in the win over Guyana.
But this rout should allow him to mix things up in their next game on Wednesday against Panama which will determine first and second place in their group.