The United States are through to the Hexagonal Round of Qualifying in 2009 after their 6-1 drubbing of Cuba last night at RFK Stadium.
Although the Americans allowed their first goal of qualifying, they put together their best offensive display this year against a short-staffed Cuban team. Earlier in the week, midfielder Pedro Faife and forward Reynier Alcantara defected, leaving the Cubans with only five eligible subs to choose from for Saturday night's game.
The depleted Cuban team did not take long to break down as the Yanks began the scoring festivities in the 10th minute when Sacha Kljestan placed a perfect through ball in the path of DaMarcus Beasley, who curled it past the slow-footed dive of Odelin Molina.
"(Kljestan) collected a ball in the midfield and played it into my path," said Beasley during the post-game press conference "The only thing I thought of was to shoot far post and that’s what happened. To get the first goal was great, because that’s the most difficult one."
The two-time World Cup veteran would strike again just twenty minutes later. A beautiful long ball by Landon Donovan found the defense flat-footed as Beasley had enough time and space to chest the ball down, before seeing it take a bounce and then striking it into the back of the net with his right foot.
Cuba responded with a goal of their own just two minutes later. Michael Bradley's failure to clear the ball saw him stripped away as Hensy Munoz took a shot from distance that sailed over Tim Howard's head before hitting the crossbar and bouncing into the goal.
It appeared that Cuba would have walked into halftime with the thought of them possibly getting a result in the U.S. That thought was quickly erased as a silly foul saw Cuban defender Yoel Colome awarded his second yellow of the match leaving Cuba with 10 men.
The one player difference became evident immediately in the second half as the Americans were able to score three minutes in. A string of seven sharp passes ended when Heath Pearce placed a low cross into the area that Donovan easily tapped home from six yards out.
In the 63rd minute the Yanks netted their fourth. Beasley's free kick from the right side found Kljestan, who headed the ball across the six yard line and then finished off by Brian Ching.
That was enough for Bob Bradley as he then summoned upon the services of his youngsters in clean-up duty. Jozy Altidore came on for Brian Ching in the 68th minute and Jose Francisco Torres officially became cap-tied to the United States as he went on for Heath Pearce. Freddy Adu also entered the game just 14 minutes from the final whistle as he was subbed on for Chivas USA midfielder Kljestan.
The Americans would finish off the game with two more goals. In the 87th minute, Jozy Altidore showed his strength and speed combination that has so many fans proclaiming he's the forward of the future. Clint Dempsey sprung Altidore loose with a through ball that left the 18 year old with one defender to beat. Altidore managed to fight off the tight marking before cleverly cutting in and scoring with a strong finish to the near post.
The final goal came in stoppage time when Oguchi Onyewu headed home a cross from Adu. The Monaco midfielder took a defender head on before creating just enough space to get a beautiful cross off to the center of the area. Gooch was able to track the ball down and leap over his defender before netting the American's sixth goal. Onyewu celebrated by blowing a kiss to his family and friends that were 100+ strong in attendance.
But although Adu may have gotten an assist and Altidore a goal, it was Torres who received the loudest ovation.
The 20 year old player from Pachuca (Mexico) just recently chose the stars and stripes over the Mexican NT and he was the most talked about player for the past week with good reason. Even one gigantic sign at RFK Stadium showed the fans' support for the 5'5 player as it said "Torres > Castillo" (referring to another Mexican-American who opted to play for Mexico instead of the States).
But Torres wasn't just cheered on for his decision on Saturday night, he was also cheered for his play. Torres should good touch, vision and even managed to rifle a shot from distance that just went over Cuba's goal.
“My nerves were calm when I first went in. During the week, I got to know my teammates better during training. These are great teammates," commented Torres of his early game jitters "They have so much experience, playing in World Cups. The first ball, I was a little nervous. Once I got a hold of it, started passing, and started shooting, I was comfortable.”
With the win last night, the Americans are through to next year's Hexagonal and that was the most important goal heading into last night. But with a pair of qualifiers remaining, Torres and the other younger players will have more than enough time to get more comfortable, as the remaining qualifiers will be served to test the youngsters in difficult matches.
Player ratings (scale of 1-10)
GK, Tim Howard, 6 -- May have been a little too far off his line on the goal, but besides that Tim was just another spectator tonight as he rarely touched the ball.
D, Steve Cherundolo, 5 -- Defended well when needed, which wasn't often, but for some reason he was timid going forward. Not the usual Cherundolo effort.
D, Oguchi Onyewu, 7 -- Gooch didn't see many challenges and he scored the final goal of the game in front of his friends and family. Solid performance for the Gooch.
D, Carlos Bocanegra, 6 -- Another solid display for the Captain as he was rarely challenged.
D, Heath Pearce, 6 -- Didn't have a tough task tonight as he was able to sit back and choose when to get forward as he had noone pressuring him. Credit to him for the assist on Donovan's goal.
M, Michael Bradley, 6 -- Stayed active throughout the game and could've had two goals on a pair of shots he wishes he could have back. Was responsible for Cuba's goal but other than that, a nice game for MB tonight.
M, Sacha Kljestan, 7 -- Is Sacha the answer for the other CM position? Kljestan was active throughout and got himself a nice couple of assists.
M, Clint Dempsey, 6 -- Did more dirty work than usual and a header in the second half almost continued his scoring streak.
M, Landon Donovan, 7 -- Landon continues to show that he's ready for another shot at European football. His jaw-dropping passing that left Beasley wide open for the second goal stamped that statement. He also scored in open play for the first time in what seems like forever. Granted it was against Cuba, but still.
M, DaMarcus Beasley, 8 -- A pair of goals gave Beasley his first for the National Team since last summer's Gold Cup. If Beasley can continue to play like this, the Americans will have a more potent offense in 2009. However, once he was pushed to left back, one could see the potential to be a possible candidate for left back which would allow another offensive weapon to step onto the pitch.
F, Brian Ching, 6 -- Did well holding the ball up and his hold up play allowed for teammates to jump into the attack. A prime example of how well he does this was on the Donovan goal, where Ching holds the ball before Heath makes a darting run down the left. Still, Ching doesn't create enough on his own and Altidore could be his spot replacement in 2009.
SUBS:
F, Josmer Altidore, 7 -- Showed off the speed and strength combination which granted him a move to Villarreal this past summer. His goal was a thing of beauty and Jozy deserves more looks come next year.
M, Jose Francisco Torres, 7 -- An impressive performance for his first cap. Stepped in and showed off his touch immediately which is a trait that is sorely lacking in the U.S. midfield right now. Almost scored a goal from distance which was nice to see. He'll most likely start on Wednesday.
M, Freddy Adu, 7 -- Adu stepped in and made an impact during the 14 minutes he played. Went at his defender late before crossing the ball towards the center that Gooch finished off.
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