Gold Cup Recap: United States 6 - St. Kitts & Nevis 0
The United States move to first in Group A ahead of the group stage finale on Sunday.
The United States Men’s National Team returned to Concacaf Gold Cup action Wednesday evening as they faced St. Kitts and Nevis for the first time inside CityPark in St. Louis, Missouri.
B.J. Callaghan and crew looked to shake off the loss in their Gold Cup opener that saw them suffer a disappointing 1-1 draw against Jamaica.
Callaghan made a whopping seven changes from Saturday’s draw as Sean Johnson dawned the Captian’s armband in goal. Revolution left back DeJuan Jones made his third cap with the USMNT as he started on the back line alongside Matt Miazga, Jalen Neal, and birthday boy Bryan Reynolds. Djordje Mihalovic, James Sands, Gianluca Busio, and Alejandro Zendejas comprised the midfield as Cade Cowell and Jesús Ferreira provided the attack.
Busio turned on the jets in the 12th minute as he raced forward to the ball from crossing the goal line as flicked the ball back into the box. Ferreira dummied the ball as it rolled into open space and Djordje Mihalovic ran onto the ball and lasered a left-footed shot into the net to notch his second USMNT goal as the United States took a 1-0 lead.
Fortune came the United States’ way in the 14th minute as no one got to Zendejas’ corner kick as it bounced in the box. Birthday boy Bryan Reynolds read the ball perfectly as he stepped up to it and rocketed a shot on goal that sailed into the back of the net to notch his first goal with the U.S. and double the lead.
Ferreira put in the work in the 16th minute as Busio sent a through ball up the middle to the striker. Ferreira withheld the St. Kitts and Nevis pressure as he maintained possession and drove upfield. Ferreira sent a right-footed shot to the bottom left corner of the net to give the US a 3-0 lead.
Ferreira wasted no time adding to the lead for the United States as a through ball from Mihalovic found the striker cutting past the back line and found himself one-on-one with the keeper. Archibald positioned himself to prevent Ferreira from adding another goal, but Ferreira caught him off guard by nutmegging the keeper and sending the ball into the open net to give the U.S. a 4-0 lead 26 minutes in.
A good string of passing in the 50th minute led to Ferreira notching a hat trick. It Cowell cut the ball inwards to Mihalovic who turned and cut the ball centrally to Ferreira, who slotted the ball home to give the United States a 4-0 lead.
Two changes came in the 56th minute as Aidan Morris and Brandon Vázquez came on for James Sands and Jesús Ferreira.
DeJuan Jones served a beauty of a ball in the 60th minute as he drove down the left flank and crossed a ball to Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds immediately attempted to slot the ball home, but Archibald was right there to make the save.
Brandon Vázquez came close to finding his second goal in as many matches as he attempted to head a free kick into the left side of the net. Vázquez’s header had the power but it lacked direction as it sailed just left of the goal.
Callaghan’s final change came in the 75th minute as Julian Gressel came on for Bryan Reynold. Gressel made his 2023 Gold Cup debut after missing Saturday’s opener as he welcomed his second child.
Djordje Mihalovic added another goal to the score sheet in the 80th minute. With Archibald and defenders scrambling to Christian Roldan, he laid the ball off to Mihalovic, who easily slotted home his second goal of the night.
It was a dominant performance by the United States over St. Kitts and Nevis as they are now at the top of Group A with four points and a +6 goal differential.
The United States will look to punch their ticket to the knockout stage of the Gold Cup on Sunday, July 2nd, as they face Trinidad and Tobago inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, at 7:00 PM ET on FS1 and Univision.