In the baking heat and suffocating humidity of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the United States men’s national team kept its qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup in Russia on track with a 6-0 win on Friday.
With a game to go in the penultimate round of qualifiers, the Americans may either have already qualified or be just a win away. That depends on the result between Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala later in the day. If T&T wins at home, the U.S. is through to the so-called hexagonal round, which kicks off in November and will send three of six teams to the World Cup and a fourth to a playoff.
Should Guatemala win, an American victory over the Trinidadians in Jacksonville, Fla., on Tuesday will also guarantee passage to the next round. A tie or a loss in the final game would complicate matters and put the USA at the mercy of Guatemala in its game with St. Vincent.
But Jurgen Klinsmann’s men made their own lives significantly simpler by doing what they were supposed to do and claiming the points on the Eastern Caribbean island, in spite of a defensive opponent, a bouncy field and an afternoon kickoff with a triple-digit heat index.
Absent a string of regulars — Michael Bradley was suspended; Jermaine Jones, Gyasi Zardes and John Brooks were injured; and Clint Dempsey’s irregular heartbeat hasn’t been fully diagnosed yet — the U.S. nonetheless had more goals than they would need by halftime.
The chances came early, as Fabian Johnson sent Bobby Wood through in just the second minute. The striker had a clean look, but he scuffed his shot.
But before the half hour, Wood would make amends. Jozy Altidore laid off for Johnson, who set up Wood. He curled a handsome shot behind headbanded goalkeeper Lemus Christopher.
Then, just four minutes later, Graham Zusi chipped a free kick forward. A defender headed the ball into the path of Matt Besler, who chested it down at the far post and half-volleyed the ball home. That gave the defender his first international goal on the day his wife delivered their first child, a daughter.
Before halftime, Wood was fouled in the box and Altidore smashed in the penalty kick to move into sole possession of third place in the all-time U.S. scoring list with 35 goals, passing Eric Wynalda.
The home team — whose 100,000 countrymen had been given half the day off to enjoy the game, although few managed to make it out to the Arnos Vale cricket ground — stirred after halftime and had three goals disallowed. But all three were plainly offside, and one included a foul on goalkeeper Brad Guzan, too.
A goal from 17-year-old phenom Christian Pulisic put to bed any lingering illusions about a comeback. In the 71st minute, Sacha Kljestan, finally brought back into the national team from the cold, set him up and the Borussia Dortmund man settled the ball with a soft touch and finished simply.
Kljestan would get his own goal a short while later to make it 5-0, with Pulisic acting as the supplier this time around.
And then Pulisic got his second goal of the day and his third in seven U.S. appearances. Kljestan found him at the edge of the box and the teen coolly deposited the ball in the top corner.
In spite of the overwhelming score, it was hardly a pretty game as the U.S. slogged through tricky conditions to vanquish a barely competent team. But the Americans got the job done and did so with little drama or fuss. And at this early stage in the World Cup cycle, that’ll do just fine.
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