Yardbarker
x
Takeaways from USMNT's blowout soccer win
United States forward Jesus Ferreira (9) celebrates with midfielder Djordje Mihailovic (14) after scoring against Saint Kitts and Nevis during the second half at CITYPARK. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Three takeaways from USMNT's blowout soccer win

By Alyssa Clang  |  Last updated Jun 29, 2023 1:23 PM ET

After drawing with Jamaica 1-1 in Game 1 of the 2023 Gold Cup, the U.S. Men's National Team walloped St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday in Game 2, 6-0. The blowout was expected; St. Kitts and Nevis has a small soccer program and made national history simply by qualifying for this Gold Cup.

But there's still plenty to learn about the USMNT and soccer in the U.S. Here are the main takeaways from the game in St. Louis:

Jesus Ferreira's goal-scoring record is no joke but check the fine print. The FC Dallas striker scored a hat trick against St. Kitts and Nevis, raising his total to 11 goals for the USMNT. He made it to double digits in goals in 20 games, the fastest in USMNT history, and became the second player to score hat tricks in back-to-back USMNT starts.

"Jesus leads our line defensively," interim coach B.J. Callaghan told MLSsoccer.com. "He knows exactly how we want to press and so I thought that helped him, in my opinion, get into the game offensively. ... a complete performance, in my mind, for Jesus."

However, context matters. The majority of Ferreira's 11 goals came against notoriously weak opposition. In addition to Wednesday night's hat trick, he scored four goals against Grenada and two against Trinidad and Tobago. Only two of his 11 goals came against top-level teams. 

Bryan Reynolds is coming for DeAndre Yedlin's spot. Yedlin has held firm as the USMNT's right back since the team's storied World Cup run in 2014. But after a stellar performance against St. Kitts and Nevis, Reynolds — who is a backup defender for AS Roma in Serie A — might take his place. Reynolds played a solid defensive game and scored a screamer in the first half after latching onto an Alex Zendejas corner. The future looks bright for him. 

St. Louis is a soccer city through and through. St. Louis' CITYPARK, the newest stadium in MLS, was hopping Wednesday night even though the game was far from a headliner. A little more than 21,000 fans attended the match.

Afterward, St. Kitts and Nevis coach Austin Huggins joked it was the biggest crowd his team had ever played before, adding, "That was almost the whole of St. Kitts and Nevis in the stadium." (The population of the dual-island nation, situated between the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, is roughly 48,000. per worldbank.org.)

That bodes well for soccer in St. Louis, an expansion city in MLS. St. Louis has a long and proud soccer history despite being a recent entry into the league.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

Yardbarker +

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.