Well, that’s certainly more like it: the U.S. cruised to a 4-0 win at Gillette Stadium on Tuesday night, thanks to a pair of goals from DaMarcus Beasley, who could have easily had three or four himself in a much bigger victory Indeed, if the boys in red, white and blue play as well as they did on Tuesday, it won’t much matter who they play in the Gold Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, says the L.A. Times’ Kevin Baxter. And we don’t have to remind you that depending on what happens Wednesday night, the prospect of that being Mexico is still very real.
“It would be great if we could play Mexico,” striker Landon Donovan said confidently, who converted a crucial penalty in first-half stoppage time to put the U.S. up 2-0. It was certainly the turning point of the match: a controversial handball the Salvadorans would say was case of the ball playing the hand instead of the other way around. Either way, Alfred Pacheco impeded a potential goal-scoring opportunity. Donovan had to take the ensuing penalty twice, which he put away confidently right down the center.
U.S. coach Bob Bradley said he isn’t worried about the next opponent, which will be decided tonight: “I think teams know our place in CONCACAF. That’s been established over the last eight to 10 years.” Easily the strongest looking team after group play, the U.S now heads into the quarters on the back of the tournament’s most resounding victory.