Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi each scored twice to lead the U.S. men’s national team to a 7-1 victory over Grenada to open CONCACAF Nations League group play on Friday in St. George’s, Grenada.
Christian Pulisic had a goal and two assists and Brenden Aaronson and Alejandro Zendejas also scored for the United States, which finished one tally shy of tying the team record for most goals in a game.
The U.S. (2-0-1, seven points) can win Group D of the tournament’s League A with a win or a tie against El Salvador (1-0-2, five points) on Monday in Orlando. The winners from each of the four groups advance to the semifinals on June 15 in Las Vegas.
The Nations League is used to determine the top teams in CONCACAF while also serving as a qualifier for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Leading 4-1 at halftime, the U.S. put the game away in the 49th minute. After taking a pass from Luca de la Torre, Pulisic drove a low shot that squirted underneath goalie Jason Belfon and trickled over the goal line.
de la Torre notched his second assist when his pass in between defenders led to Pepi’s breakaway goal for a 6-1 lead in the 53rd minute.
Zendejas capped the scoring in the 72nd minute with his first career goal for the USMNT.
The United States needed just four minutes to find the back of the net.
After receiving a pass from Joe Scally along the left wing, Pulisic delivered a perfect cross to Pepi, who headed the ball past Belfon from just a few feet in front of the goal.
The visitors doubled the lead in the 20th minute when Pulisic slid a pass near the top of the box to Aaronson, who made a quick move to his right before driving a shot past Belfon.
The United States extended its lead to 3-0 in the 31st minute. Pulisic’s free kick from between the side of the penalty box and the left sideline deflected off a Grenada defender to McKennie, who volleyed it into the back of the net.
Grenada (0-3-1, one point) countered a minute later when Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong found Myles Hippolyte near the top of the penalty box, and Hippolyte blasted a shot past goalie Matt Turner.
Pulisic curled a free kick from outside the penalty box toward the far post, where Auston Trusty headed the ball down to McKennie, who scored from just a few feet away in the 34th minute.
–Field Level Media