Morris stoppage-time goal gives US draw at El Salvador
Entering in the 80th minute on a rain-soaked field that looked like a torn-up recreational park, Jordan Morris thought back to youth soccer in Seattle.
Morris went on to score in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, offsetting Alexander Larin’s 35th-minute goal past poorly positioned Ethan Horvath and giving the United States a 1-1 draw at El Salvador in a soggy World Cup warmup Tuesday night.
“These are kind of some of the fields I used to play on as a kid,” Morris said. “Being from Seattle, obviously, it’s not the mud — the rain. I love playing in the rain. So I was just embracing that moment. I think the team as a group just embraced the challenge.”
El Salvador was close to ending a 30-year, 19-game winless streak against the U.S. in this CONCACAF Nations League match. Among the players on the bubble for a Cup roster spot, Morris leapt over Larin to head Luca de la Torre’s cross past goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez seconds into six minutes of stoppage time.
Morris scored his 11th international goal, his first since November 2019 and first since tearing his left ACL in February 2021.
Players were covered in mud soon after kickoff in San Salvador. Both teams finished a man short.
“The group grows with moments like this,” U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said. “After the game, Jordan Morris walks into the locker room and everyone starts cheering. Everyone’s uniform is a dark brown color, the shoes are a mess, the staff is all dirty. This is what builds teams.”
American winger Paul Arriola was ejected in the 70th when he made a sliding tackle that caught Larin on a shin and flipped him. Mexico’s Cesar Ramos, among 36 referees selected for the World Cup, immediately showed the first straight red card against an American since Michael Orozco in the 2016 Copa America third-place match against Colombia.
El Salvador’s Ronald Rodriguez was sent off in the 79th for knocking down Yunus Musah as the midfielder tried to run onto a through ball.
Just two warmups remain for the Americans, exhibitions in Europe on Sept. 23 and 27, likely against Asian opponents. The U.S. opens the World Cup against No. 18 Wales on Nov. 21, faces No. 5 England four days later and finishes the first round against No. 21 Iran on Nov. 29.