Tonight, Cuba may be wishing relations with the U.S.A. hadn’t warmed in the past few months, after the U.S. smashed Cuba 6-0 in the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarter-finals. In a match which saw Seattle Sounders and U.S. forward Clint Dempsey nail a hat-trick and Gonzalez, Zardes, and Johannsson grab a goal each, the cup game was a truly spectacular event for American soccer fans.
U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann said Friday : “I think we are definitely the team to beat in this tournament,” according to Goal.com . His confidence wasn’t misplaced.
Dempsey’s first goal came after just four minutes, as Bleacher Report noted, with a cross from Timothy Chandler letting Dempsey pull off a header that left Cuba’s goalkeeper, Diosvelis Guerra, helpless. With the heat and excitement at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore leaving fans sweating, the relentless march to Gold Cup victory continued for the U.S. squad. After some back and forth play, the 15th minute arrived, and so did the second U.S. goal.
The Guardian reports it was yet another cross that granted the U.S. squad its second goal in the Gold Cup quarter-finals, with a neat cross from Fabian Johnson resulting in Gyasi Zardes making it 2-0. As Goal.com note, U.S. striker Aron Johannsson bagged a goal and an assist to help make it 4-0 before the half-time whistle had even blown. The third goal came via a good ball from Bradley, with Johannsson sending the ball over the Cuban keeper, and the fourth U.S. goal was bagged by Omar Gonzalez, thanks to a header from Johannsson, CBS Sports reported.
The man from Mobile certainly proved his versatility tonight.
When half-time rolled around it was clear that, despite the occasional lambasting on the international soccer stage, the U.S.A.’s team are not to be trifled with. Just under 20 minutes into the second half, the score was about to get even higher, the Cuban team’s spirits lower, and the match even more one-sided. This time, it was a penalty that would cause Cuba grief, with Johannsson going down in the box leaving Dempsey to take the kick, according to The Guardian . The resulting suave chip made it five goals for the U.S. team.
Dempsey makes it 5-0 #USMNT with a cheeky PK. #USAvCUB https://t.co/ni9ASAiZsd
— Ryan Krasnoo (@RyanKras) July 18, 2015
A quarter of an hour later, and it was time for the death knell. With a second successful assist from Bradley, Dempsey got his third, and the U.S. teams got its sixth goal of the game, CBS noted. In doing so, Dempsey not only excelled himself, but also secured a new Gold Cup record. And that, as they say, was all she wrote.
If score holds, @ussoccer 6-0 lead v #Cuba will be largest margin of victory in a #CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal… #GoldCup2015 #USAvCUB
— Gold Cup 2015 (@GoldCup) July 18, 2015
The next match for the U.S.A. is set for July 22, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. It’ll pit today’s victors against either Jamaica or Haiti, we’ll find out who later tonight.
In 2013, the U.S. team’s quarter-final ended similarly one-sidedly, with a 5-1 victory over El Salvador. The U.S. would later go on to win the cup, claiming a 1-0 win against Panama to get the gold. Could this be the start of another march to victory?
[All photos by Rob Carr/Getty Images]
