Landon Donovan and Earnie Stewart scored to the give the USA a 2-0 win over Paraguay on Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. The game served as tuneup for the Gold Cup, in which the Americans open with El Salvador Saturday in Foxboro, Mass.
The game marked Claudio Reyna's first appearance for the USA since captaining the team to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup. Reyna, who played the final 30 minutes, suffered an ACL tear while playing with English Premier League club Sunderland last October.
In the 12th minute, DaMarcus Beasley beat three Paraguayans before hitting a low pass from the endline that bounced off a Paraguayan defender before Donovan hammered it home from eight yards.It was the USA's first goal after being shutout in its final two Confederations Cup games, against Cameroon (0-0) and Brazil (1-0).
''We're happy with the win,'' said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. ''It's always good to get a quality game like this going into a competition. I told the team after the game that we were a much better team in how we played for each other than any of the three games we played in France [at the 2003 Confederations Cup].''
The USA lost its first Confederations Cup game, 2-1 to Turkey.
Earnie Stewart scored the USA's second goal with an 14-yard rocket after a Paraguayan defender headed him a cross from Eddie Lewis.
International Friendly
July 6 in Columbus, Ohio
USA 2 Paraguay 0.
Goals: Donovan (Beasley) 12, Stewart 95+.
USA — Keller, Vanney, Gibbs (Garcia, 87), Bocanegra, Hejduk, Mulrooney, Beasley, Convey (Reyna, 61), Stewart Donovan (McBride, 90), Mathis (Lewis, 71).
Paraguay — Justo, Mendoza, Maldonado, Ayala, Nunez, Gavilan (Avalos, 69), Ortiz, Bonet, 1 Campos (Ortiz, 46), Soto (Acucharro, 70), Samudio (Bareiro, 46).
Stats: USA-PAR
Shots: 13-12
Saves: 3-3
Corner Kicks: 8-3
Fouls: 12-14
Offside: 2-6
Yellow Cards: USA — none; PAR — Mendoza 45, Ortiz 89.
Red Cards: none
Referee: Navarro (CAN)
Att.: 14,103