Jul 19, 2017; Philadelphia, PA, USA; United States defender Omar Gonzalez (3) scores a goal past El Salvador midfielder Darwin Ceren (7) and defender Ivan Mancia (5) during the first half at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
USMNT vs El Salvador Post-Match
In this Gold Cup Quarterfinals matchup in Philadelphia, the US prevailed over a scrappy El Salvador team, 2-0. The US looked rather lethargic for a good chunk of the first half, however a set piece goal by Omar Gonzalez in the 41st minute got the crowd into things, and an Eric Lichaj goal in first half stoppage time sent the Americans into the break with all the momentum. From there, all they had to was sit back, and occasionally try to strike on the counterattack. The US hung on for a 2-0 win, despite some, uh, questionable tactics by the Salvadorans.
Try as he may, Clint Dempsey was not able to tie Landon Donovan’s goal-scoring record, but he still played a pretty good match overall. Other top performers were Jozy Altidore, and Tim Howard. Paul Arriola, Gyasi Zardes, Justin Morrow, and Darlington Nagbe were OK, but didn’t raise their stock at all with their performances. Eric Lichaj and and Matt Hedges were two players who struggled in this one. Aside from the goal, Lichaj was beaten or lost his man on multiple occasions, and the defensive ability that made him Forest’s Player of the Year was almost non-existent. Hedges, meanwhile, was the worst player on the pitch for the US for the second time in this tournament, including his last start against Martinique. Hopefully this second straight disaster of a start from Hedges will prompt Bruce Arena to start Chelsea loanee Matt Miazga again, whom I thought was Man of the Match against Nicaragua over the weekend. It will certainly be interesting to see how the US lines up in the semifinals against Costa Rica, who will be the first real test of the tournament for the US.
