The USMNT cruised to a 6-1 win over Martinique on Thursday night at Children’s Mercy Park in their second group stage match of the Gold Cup. Here are the player ratings from Thursday’s win.
The United States Men’s National Team booked their ticket to the 2021 Gold Cup quarterfinals with a decisive 6-1 win over Martinique on Thursday night.
Daryl Dike score the first of his two goals in the 14th minute. The USMNT added a second through an own goal in the 23rd minute.
The lead stretched to 3-0 when Miles Robinson headed in his first of the tournament in the 50th minute before Dike’s second in the 59th minute.
After Kellyn Acosta conceded a penalty, Emmanuel Riviére put it away to make it 4-1 after 64 minutes. Gyasi Zardes and Nicholas Gioacchini each added goals as substitutes in the final 20 minutes as the USMNT took the comfortable 6-1 win.
It wasn’t all great for the USMNT. They were one goal away from finishing the night first in Group B. Instead, the U.S. sits second and needs to win against first-place Canada on Sunday. Both teams enter the group finale with two wins.
Here are the player ratings from Thursday’s win.
Starting XI
Matt Turner – 7
Another solid performance. Not much in front of him, but made a couple of very good saves. Unfortunate to lose his shutout streak that looked headed to reach three games until the penalty decision. Good to have a surehanded keeper back there.
George Bello – 5
Hope he can offer more because he wasn’t great against Martinique. Will need to be more active to stand out in the current pool of USMNT players.
Miles Robinson – 7
Took great care of the ball with a 96 percent passing percentage. Also found a goal with a simple header from Williamson’s cross in the second half.
Walker Zimmerman – 6
A decent performance. USMNT captain got badly caught out once, but covered his own mistake up well with a defensive header. The bigger test will be against Canada.
James Sands – 7
Did well to step in and win possession for the U.S. Also did well to delay Martinique attackers when needed. Bright future for the 21-year-old.
Shaq Moore – 7
Another impressive display from the Tenerife man. Looks very confident and aggressive going forward. Seems to be another good option to have for right back depth.
Eryk Williamson – 8
A brilliant performance in his first USMNT start. Was the man who unlocked the Martinique defense with a sensational ball leading to the first goal. Trust me as someone who saw it in person, the broadcast did not do it justice as he fit the ball wide into a very tight window. Later getting an assist, he also displayed great confidence and creativity throughout his 79 minutes.
Gianluca Busio – 7
Certainly not the best performance we’ve seen from Busio at Children’s Mercy Park. Still highly and positively influential in the midfield in his first start with the USMNT. Got his first assist in the 90th minute and should have scored in the first half. Played like a star and was a great improvement from Yueill.
Cristian Roldan – 7
Not as good as the other two central midfielders, but wasn’t bad. Probably didn’t do enough to warrant any further starts, but it could come. Did play a fantastic ball to assists Zardes on the second goal.
Matthew Hoppe – 7
Not bad for his first professional game in front of a crowd. Delivered a delightful ball to Dike on the first goal. Encouraged to see more of him this tournament. Had a clever backheel pass to Busio, but the Sporting KC midfielder could only smash the frame of the goal.
Daryl Dike – 8
Man of the match performance from the Orlando City forward. A menace all night. Scored a brace with a fantastic header in the first half before a strong and controlled run in the second half. Has to be seriously looked at to be the first choice forward for the USMNT first team.
Substitutions
Nicholas Gioacchini – 7
Came on and was pretty lively. Work was credited with a goal in his hometown the 90th minute.
Kellyn Acosta – 4
Committed a boneheaded foul just inside the box as a sub. Could come back to bight if the U.S. fails to beat Canada on Sunday.
Gyasi Zardes – 7
Had a fantastic run capped off by a goal. Good to see two strikers take their chances tonight for the USMNT.
Donovan Pines – 5
Got a 10 minute run out for his USMNT debut. Not great, but likely his only chance this tournament as the USMNT gear up for the knockout stages after the big game against Canada on Sunday.
Jackson Yueill – 5
Returned to the pitch with 10 minutes left after Busio seemingly took his position over. Going to be tough to get the job back from Busio, but Yueill does have the experience.