U.S. Men’s National Team v. El Salvador, Baltimore, Maryland, 7.21.13

The U.S. beat El Salvador 5-1 in a game that could have been even more lopsided had the U.S. taken most of their chances. It was played in Baltimore, in an NFL stadium, and by the looks of the stands on TV the crowd was about 80% pro-El Salvador. The Salvadoran players put forth a decent effort, but only their striker Rodolfo Zelaya really shone, more than once making U.S. defenders look as if he were shining a spotlight in their faces as he dribbled at and around them. On one run to the U.S. end line in the 25^th minute, Zelaya created what should have been an assist with a ball across the face of goal. Ten minutes later, he cut the U.S. lead to 2-1 with a swift lateral run through the box that ended with a DaMarcus Beasley foul. Zelaya calmly chipped the ensuing penalty kick down the middle.

Mostly, though, Zelaya’s teammates showed a lack of quality, repeatedly sending shots and crosses high and/or wide. To the U.S.’s credit, they did not play down to the competition. Landon Donovan showed yet again why he has more than twice as many assists as anyone to wear a U.S. jersey. I mentioned in a post last month that his knack for creating chances is perhaps not as widely recognized as it should be, most commentators preferring to dwell on his U.S. goal-scoring record. I hesitate to sing his praises yet again for fear of being boring, but he was clearly the story of this game. He had another three assists, had a big hand in creating a fourth U.S. goal, and scored the fifth himself. It should be added that he did finish poorly on occasion, and pretty easily could have had a hat trick to go along with those three assists.

Donovan’s old 1999 U-17 World Cup teammate Kyle Beckerman had a notable game as well. It took him a while to get his footing. Early on, he dwelled on the ball and was dispossessed, made a bad pass or two, and generally looked slow when El Salvador countered. But his day progressed nicely. He made a few stunning passes, including one long ball to Joe Corona in the 20^th minute and a pass to Donovan in the 83^rd that led to a Mix Diskerud goal. (Beckerman got the hockey assist on that one.) He also hit two good knuckling shots from distance in the second half, the rebounds from either of which might have led to U.S. goals.

Recent call up Eddie Johnson also turned in a memorable performance. Sporting a new blond dye-job with shaved lightning-bolt accent, he came on for Chris Wondolowski in the 60^th minute while the U.S. were setting up for a corner kick. No exaggeration, Johnson scored within 20 seconds of setting foot on the field. He jogged from the sideline to the penalty box, then ran onto a Donovan cross at the near post with all the apparent force and strength of a comic-book hero meting out justice in the final panels. The El Salvador defenders did all they could to make him look good by not marking him, but still, Johnson looked powerful on the play.

And so the U.S. has extended its win streak to nine games and is 4-0 in the Gold Cup. They’ve outscored their opponents by combined score of 16-3 in this tournament, but we should remember that the U.S. beat Costa Rica by only a single goal last week. And Costa Rica lost to Honduras today. That sets up a tough match for the U.S. this Wednesday in Dallas, where there will no doubt be many Honduras supporters in the stands. We should also remember that Honduras beat the U.S. in February in a World Cup qualifier.

Strange to say, though, a feeling of optimism has attached itself to, or is emanating from, this U.S. team. I doubt if anyone on that team is certain of a victory this Wednesday. But if they put forth the kind of effort they did today, it’s fair to say the U.S. will likely beat Honduras and advance to the final.