Gioacchini, Soto star as US thrash Panama
VIENNA: Nicholas Gioacchini and Sebastian Soto each scored their first two international goals in a 6-2 exhibition rout of Panama on Monday night at Wiener Neustadt, Austria, the second of two matches for the americans that followed a 10- month pandemic break.
Gio Reyna got his first goal three days ater his 18th birthday, the third-youngest player to score in modern era.
Sebastian Lletget also got a goal in a physical, open match against ac on ca ca fri val that reached the 2018 World Cup over the Americans.
“All we wanted to do from the beginning is get the fans on our side. It was an important thing, important step for us,” US coach Gregg Berhalter said. “People are excited to watch.”
Ten months before the delayed start of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, there was much to savor, even though the level was hard to compare to that of a competitive match.
“We’re all hungry to play, all hungry to start, all hungry to prove and to show what we’re made of,” said Gioacchini, a 20-year-old forward in his second season with the senior team at second-tier Caen in France.
Reyna broke through at Borussia Dortmund last season ater starring for the 2019 under-17 team, and both dad Claudio Reyna and mom Danielle Egan played for the US.
Soto was a stand out at last year’ s under -20 world Cup and is on second-tier Telstar in the Netherlands. He debuted along with Richy Ledezma, a 20-yearold midfielder who made his first senior appearance for PSV Eindhoven on Nov. 1; and Chris Richards, a 20-year-old defender who made his first Bayern
Munich appearance on June 20.
Only Christian Pulisic (17 years, 253 days in 2016), who missed this game with a hamstring injury, and Juan Agudelo (17 years, 359 days in 2010) scored at a younger age. “You can still see a lot of times we’ve only been together for a week. But I think you also saw some really good things,” Reyna said. “Just slowly bringing this group together. By the time qualifying comes we’ll be ready to compete.”
Joséf ajar do scored his first two goals for panama. He beat goalkeeper Zack Steffen in the eighth minute with a glancing header following a cross by Alejandro Yearwood that split central defenders Tim Ream and Mat Miazga, then cut the gap to 3-2 in the 79th minute with a 12-yard let-footed shot off a pass from Omar Browne.
The us dominated the first half with 72% possession and finished with a 15-8 advantage in shots, though it struggled to create for much of the second half.