Jesús Ferreira busts his USMNT slump with four goals vs. poor Grenada

The striker needed a confidence boost in front of goal. Enter Grenada

Jesús Ferreira needed to bust out of his slump and in Grenada, U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter saw the perfect opponent for a slump-buster.

Yes, it was Grenada. Yes, Ferreira missed a couple more presentable chances. But, well, he scored four goals. That will paper over a lot of cracks.

Regardless of opponent or context, it was a massive confidence boost for a young striker who himself admitted prior to the game that he was struggling.

And it was vindication for Berhalter, who kept Ferreira in his lineup while rotating many other members of his squad for Friday’s CONCACAF Nations League match at Q2 Stadium in Austin.

There was an expectation that Berhalter would give Haji Wright a start at striker against the minnows, but the U.S. boss clearly believed that getting Ferreira an inevitable multitude of looks at goal would be worth it.

Were the World Cup to start tomorrow Ferreira would be in pole position to start at striker, so it’s not hard to see why Berhalter prioritized the fragile confidence of the FC Dallas star over the chance to get a longer look at Wright.

That lack of confidence was on display for much of the first half, as Ferreira again flattered to deceive when given presentable chances in the box. But a 43rd-minute opener eased the nerves and set the stage for a grandstand second half.

It must be said that Ferreira first missed a sitter of a header before his second-half hat trick, but his second and third goals on the night appeared to come from a confident striker in top form. And to be fair, Ferreira is a confident striker in top form with FC Dallas, where he’s tied for the MLS lead with nine goals.

Even though he lit up the scoreboard in Friday’s 5-0 win, there will be more important tests for Ferreira to pass if he wants to be the guy in Qatar.

At least for one night though, he can say with a reasonable degree of certainty that his national team scoring slump is in the past.

Watch Ferreira’s four goals

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