Laken Litman
College Football & Soccer Analyst
The U.S. men’s national team dominated Trinidad and Tobago in its opening Gold Cup match on Sunday, cruising to a decisive 5-0 win. Malik Tillman and Patrick Agyemang combined for three goals before halftime, while Brenden Aaronson and Haji Wright came off the bench to add two more in the second.
The strong and relentless performance by a young American squad was a complete 180-degree turn from the way the group looked over the last week in consecutive losses to Turkiye and Switzerland, which drew mounds of public criticism. While Trinidad and Tobago wasn’t exactly the same caliber opponent, this is exactly how the U.S. wanted to begin tournament play.
Here are takeaways from the match:
McGlynn, Luna making early World Cup cases
Jack McGlynn and Diego Luna, two midfielders who have already been bright spots for this team so far this calendar year, are certainly endearing themselves further to Pochettino and his staff.
Sunday, Luna had two assists and should have scored in the first half. On the second goal in the 41st minute, Luna found himself alone streaking down the left wing. Rather than take a shot himself, he slipped a pinpoint pass to a streaking Tillman, who nailed the ball into the back of the net.
On the third goal, Luna’s shot deflected off Agyemang and bounced past goalkeeper Marvin Phillip.
McGlynn, meanwhile, continually found himself in dangerous areas and was creative in the final third. Leading up to this match – and dating back to the Concacaf Nations League Finals in March – the USMNT struggled to finish. That wasn’t an issue on Sunday, like on this opening goal in the first 15 minutes when McGlynn chipped the ball across the mouth of the goal to Tillman.
Solid performance in goal by Freese
Pochettino opted to play Matt Freese in goal over Matt Turner in the USMNT’s first Gold Cup match. The manager had said he trusted Turner, but wanted to give Freese, who had one cap entering this game, more experience.
While Trinidad and Tobago didn’t threaten often – the USMNT out shot its opponent 21-3, 11-2 in shots on goal – Freese needed to spring into action a few times and was successful.
Like on this early chance in the second half.
Can we expect Pochettino to rotate goalkeepers throughout the Gold Cup? We’ll see who he starts later this week when the U.S. faces Saudi Arabia in its second match.
What’s next for the USMNT?
The Americans will travel to Austin where they’ll face Saudi Arabia on Thursday, June 19 (9:15 p.m. ET on FOX) at Q2 Stadium. The Saudis, who are in the middle of 2026 World Cup qualifying, could prove to be a stiffer test for the U.S. than Trinidad and Tobago turned out to be. The team is led by manager Herve Renard, who was the squad’s coach at the 2022 World Cup when it pulled off a massive group stage upset over eventual champion Argentina.
The last time these nations met was the USMNT’s final tune-up match before the 2022 World Cup and they tied 0-0 in Murica, Spain.
United States vs. Trinidad and Tobago Highlights | Concacaf Gold Cup
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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