Omar Gonzalez starts as USA rout T&T

The former Galaxy and current Pachuca center back went all 90 minutes, earning a shutout as the U.S. Men’s National Team blew out Trinidad and Tobago Tuesday night in Jacksonville to finish this round of World Cup Qualifying. The Hex now awaits.

In the 31st minute, Jozy Altidore marched up the right flank while holding off a T&T defender before his cross missed the sliding foot of Bobby Wood by inches, then the rebound by Christian Pulisic somehow hit both goalposts before bouncing out.

However, Sacha Kjlestan would get the U.S. on the board right before the half, as after a nice bit of interchange with Pulisic, the Red Bull midfielder poked home an awful clearance.

The floodgates opened in the second half. Jozy would score a brace in five minutes,
first executing a perfect pullback to make mince meat of a T&T defender and neatly tucking away a low finish in the 59th, then Altidore popped up on the back post to slide and put away a tap-in.

The night featured plenty of combination play and exciting moments, but none were probably better than the interchange that resulted in former Galaxy academy product Paul Arriola’s goal in the 71st to conclude the scoring for the U.S. as the Americans finished atop the group.