USMNT vs. Grenada in three moments

Ferreira’s breakthrough, de la Torre breaking schemes, and no injuries? That’s a good night.

The U.S. men’s national team did the job Friday night, beating Grenada 5-0 in their CONCACAF Nations League opener thanks to four goals from JesĂşs Ferreira.

No one’s going to write any grand tributes to this match, in which it took the USMNT 43 minutes to break through before then turning the game into the expected rout after halftime. It was hot, Grenada dropped deep and defended gamely until fatigue derailed their efforts, and if you’re well-versed in CONCACAF games, you’ve seen this one a few times by now.

Nonetheless, there are three moments that sum the experience up for the USMNT as they head into a more challenging match at El Salvador on Tuesday:

Ferreira finally scores…and then keeps scoring

It could have gone so differently for Ferreira, who before he scored had missed one very good chance, running onto Kellyn Acosta’s through ball only to take himself away from goal, reducing his angle and briefly adding to the perception that he might not be the goalscorer the USMNT is looking for.

But then, given a chance to react rashly in front of goal late in the half, Ferreira showed big-time composure to break through. Following up on Paul Arriola’s bull rush into the Grenada box, Ferreira pounced on a loose ball amid a crowd of green-and-yellow shirts.

Ferreira could have just rolled the dice on shooting right away and hoping the ball found its way through the pack. That’s the natural choice in a scramble, where a tackle you don’t know is coming could arrive and take the chance away.

Instead, Ferreira took the one extra touch, changing his angle and finding a larger window to power a low shot home. It was an important goal for Ferreira, who entered the game under pressure after scoring just once in his last nine caps, and it was a low-key important goal for the USMNT, who were on the verge of entering halftime scoreless at home against the 170th-ranked team in the world.

From there? Ferreira produced three more goals after the break, and all showed the kind of confidence that has him leading the MLS Golden Boot race. He timed his run onto Arriola’s through ball perfectly for his second, fizzed home a first-time shot on a dead ball routine, and did a classic poacher impression with some mop-up duty to finish the night.

Grenada’s not an impressive foe, but if you’re a potential USMNT starting striker, you’re scoring a bunch of goals against them. Ferreira just scored a bunch of goals on them, which is just about all you can ask.

Luca de la Torre wants your attention

Luca de la Torre isn’t talked about as much as a potential starter in the USMNT midfield right now, with the “MMA” midfield of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, and Tyler Adams being the strong favorite, and Brenden Aaronson probably the most likely option to break that trio up.

However, De la Torre has routinely added Musah-esque fluency to the USMNT’s possession while quietly getting the job done defensively. On Friday, the key moment for him was his assist on Arriola’s goal, the fourth of the night for the USMNT.

It was a heads-up play from a central midfielder: Grenada dropped off as the USMNT brought the ball upfield through Kellyn Acosta, but the tempo was comfortable for the visitors. Acosta passed forward to De la Torre, who immediately turned on the jets to break the scheme, evading a Grenada player and getting to space between the lines before the rest of the Spice Boyz could seal it off.

From there, he had the touch and technique to slip Arriola in behind at the back post, where he arrived just ahead of his marker and goalkeeper Jason Belfon to poke the ball home.

This is what the USMNT needs against lower-block opponents, and De la Torre’s recognition of both the wobbly spacing from Grenada and the fatigue that they had in the moment will stick in Gregg Berhalter’s mind, especially as Aaronson remains in the mix as a forward and both McKennie (linked with Tottenham of late) and Adams (who only started four of RB Leipzig’s final 14 league games this season) may face battles for club playing time this fall.

No one got hurt

All of the following things happened in about 45 seconds or so midway through the first half:

  • De la Torre was clattered by Ashley Charles, who got booked
  • Ferreira got cleaned out by an even worse tackle before the De la Torre foul was even whistled
  • Aaron Long took a knee to the solar plexus as Belfon charged out to guide the ball away from danger

Long got checked out at length but played on until halftime without any apparent difficulty. Ferreira, we know was just fine, and De la Torre managed to get his feet off the ground in time to make sure the collision didn’t result in anything worse than a brief flash of pain.

In a game like this, where it’s hard to truly evaluate the USMNT beyond just sticking to the game plan, staying focused, and working hard, avoiding injury will always go down as a plus. Furthermore, we have to remember that we’re just barely five months away from kickoff between the USMNT and Wales in Qatar. There are certain injuries that no one’s coming back from in that timeframe, and getting through this window and the next without any real damage is a big deal.

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