The USA beat Grenada 7-1 on the road in their first competitive match since the 2022 World Cup on Friday to move closer to a place in the CONCACAF Nations League final.
Riccardo Pepe and Weston McKinney each scored twice while Christian Pulisic starred in five of the goals, including scoring one of his own. Brendan Aronson and Alejandro Zendegas – in his first appearance since joining the United States over Mexico – scored the other goal for a US team under interim coach Anthony Hudson.
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The win means the United States only need a draw with El Salvador in Orlando on Monday to top their group and qualify for the Fourth Nations League in June.
In a game that often felt like a training exercise against a team ranked 173rd in the world, the USMNT set a new mark for the most goals scored in a game played outside the United States.
The visitors dominated and scored four goals in the first 34 minutes at the 8,000-capacity Kirani James National Stadium in the capital, St. George.
“A performance and a result like this can be – you don’t want to get carried away,” Hudson said after the match.
“The importance for us is just making sure we do all the right things between now and the next game and finish the job. But the actual performance, I thought was the result of a really, really great week.”
Pulisic, captain of the team in the absence of the injured Tyler Adams, had a hand in all four first-half goals, assisting Pepe into the net after four minutes and Aronson to hit the net again in the 20th minute. Then the Chelsea star delivered two sets of set-pieces from which Leeds United midfielder McKinney scored Two goals in his second multi-goal game for the United States.
“We came out strong with a lot of energy and I kind of put them on the spot. So I think they were kind of surprised by that. We scored well and played great everywhere. It definitely gives us confidence,” said Pulisic.
The USA continued to score after the break with Pulisic scoring a goal of his own with a shot that Grenada goalkeeper Jason Bellefon let go of through his grasp. Pepe, who made something of a statement after being left out of the World Cup squad, scored his second with a finish close to the post from Luca de la Torres’s through ball.
Zendejas added a late spark off the bench and fired in his first American goal from 20 yards to wrap up the scoring in the 72nd minute. His appearance in a competitive match also means the Club America midfielder is officially linked to the USA.
The inexperienced defense making his Auston Trusty debut and Brian Reynolds’ first start seemed weak at times and conceded a consolation goal for Grenada from Miles Hippolyte to make it 3-1 at half-time. Grenada also hit the post when the score was 1-0.
But otherwise, it was a comfortable evening for Hudson, who remains in charge after Greg Berhalter’s contract has expired.
The former American assistant started seven players who were involved in Al-Ittihad’s run to the Round of 16 in Qatar, including Gio Reina.
At the center of the controversy between Berhalter and the Reina family that has engulfed the team in recent months after it was used sparingly in the World Cup, the 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund has been named in a central creative role but has made little impact.
For the first time since the league began in 1996, the United States did not feature a single player currently playing in MLS, although nine of the rookies came through the league’s academies.
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