Resurgent US relish Panama trip
Los Angeles, March 27: A revitalised United States face Panama on Tuesday brimming with confidence after a record World Cup qualifying victory inspired by teenage star Christian Pulisic and veteran forward Clint Dempsey.
The pall of gloom enveloping the US national team following defeats against Mexico and Costa Rica in November was blown away on Friday, with Pulisic and Dempsey helping to deliver a 6-0 thrashing of Honduras.
The win was the biggest ever recorded by a US team in the final round of World Cup qualifiers in the Concacaf zone, which comprises teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
But it was the manner, rather than the scale, of the victory that has reignited confidence in America’s bid to qualify for an eighth consecutive appearance at the World Cup finals.
Though it was the 34year-old Dempsey who took the man-of-the-match award with a hat-trick on his first return to national team duty since recovering from an irregular heartbeat, Pulisic was unquestionably the most influential US player.
The Borussia Dortmund prodigy, still only 18, scored one goal and set up three others in a display that suggests US soccer has finally unearthed the sort of authentic attacking talent American fans have craved for years.
Against Honduras, Pulisic thrived in the No.10 role, buzzing around menacingly in the space created by the forward partnership of Dempsey and Jozy Altidore.
US coach Bruce Arena said he had no hesitation in making Pulisic the fulcrum of the US attack after watching him play in a similar position for Bundesliga side Dortmund this season.
Friday’s victory lifted the United States off the bottom of the six-team round-robin final qualifying competition into fourth place.
The top three finishers qualify automatically for next year’s finals in Russia while the fourth-placed team faces an inter-confederation playoff against an Asian side.