The following was reaction after the United States clinched a berth in the U-17 World Cup by beating El Salvador, 4-0, to win its qualifying group in St. Louis: U.S. U-17 national team coach John Ellinger On the win over El Salvador and qualifying for the U-17 World Cup: “It has been a year-and-a-half of hard work with a group of guys who we’ve all become very attached to, and to save our best soccer for the last game against a very good El Salvador, makes this win feel very good.” On the red card that left Chad Marshall injured: “I was a little disappointed with that, to be honest. I looked at the face of the No. 14 coming in and I don’t mind saying this, it looked like he had one thing on his mind, which was to whack somebody. And I was very disappointed. I actually told our coaching staff when he was going in ‘that this guy is going to kick somebody.’ It is very unfortunate that it happens to be against someone as valuable to our team as Chad.” On Eddie Johnson, who led the tournament with five goals: “Eddie just got better and better every game. It’s great that people can now see what I’ve been able to see for the last year and a half. He is superb at holding possession for our team. When he has the ball, we have other options to bring players forward. He may have lost the ball just once or twice in the entire tournament. We are very pleased with ability to hold possession, and his finishing was outstanding.” On the performance against El Salvador: “We played very well. Mike Magee, who we think is going to be a very good player for us down the road, settled in and played much better today as well. We have a young team, in terms of international experience, so I am very pleased with how we progressed in the tournament.” Midfielder Santino Quaranta On the victory: “We knew it was going to be a battle for us, because they had to come out and try and win. We got some great finishes from Ed [Johnson], and that helped us get on top of them and we never let them back in the game. For overall performance, this was probably the best of our three games here. We had some great finishes and I knew we were going to come out on top. Everybody stepped it up, everybody individually was a part of this. From the goalkeepers right up to Eddie Johnson up top.” On Gray Griffin’s save on the line in the 18th minute: “That was a huge play, a real turning point in the game. If that had gone in, it would have changed the game entirely, and [our] backs would have been against the wall. Griffin came up big time for us a couple of times, and he’s our captain, so he needs to do that.” On the importance of the U-17 World Cup: “The first two games, especially the first game, we came out a little nervous. For us, we really just wanted to get these games out of the way so we could prepare for the World Championship, because everything we’ve been doing has been staged around being at the World Championship. Defender Gray Griffin On the victory: “The whole team needs to do their part, and we all defended well today. We entered the game shooting for a shutout because we knew if we got a shutout we’d be through to the World Championship. All of our defenders did everything we could to get that shutout. And I was just doing my job. That’s what I’m there for.” On the team’s overall effort: “From a stand point of a team effort, this was our best game. We came together, we knew what we had to do, and we got the job done and took it to them. We got the job done. The fans here in St. Louis were great and motivated us. They got behind us every game, and we didn’t want to disappoint them.” On the U.S. chances in Trinidad & Tobago: “I think this team can go all the way. We’ve got everything. We’ve got number one players throughout the team. Whatever we need, we’ve got it.” Ed Johnson On his hat trick: “This was just one of those games. The team counts on me to score goals and today I wanted a hat trick and got a hat trick. I feel real proud for the team getting this win, but that’s just one step. Now we just have to get the business done in Trinidad. “I thought we played better every game in this tournament. After a year-and-a-half of residency, we were prepared for this environment, and we were able to put on a show today for the fans, who supported us all week.” “This team is like 18 brothers who work hard for each other and communicate well as a team. We made a statement in this tournament, by putting everyone away.”