USMNT

Gregg Berhalter's wide-open competition for the starting striker's job has a new front-runner after Jesús Ferreira scored four times in 5-0 win in Austin.

What I want to do is just keep the focus, keep working hard to earn more minutes to show what I can do for the team.” His cross was deflected back to Ferreira, who shifted to his left to create a pocket of space, then ripped a left-footed, 10-yard shot into the far corner. The breakthrough finally came in the 43rd minute. Two minutes later, off Kellyn Acosta’s corner kick, Ferreira scored in spectacular fashion with the one-timer. For most of the first half, the visitors hung in there. Berhalter used Friday’s match to start a mix of regulars and reserves. One friendly will be played in Germany, the other in Spain. (Because of their own Nations League schedule, European teams aren’t available for friendlies.) “I’m trying to focus more on having a good game, making sure that my first touch is good, helping my teammates any way I can, and the goals will come.” The Nations League best serves small countries that otherwise have a hard time arranging matches with bigger teams. His FC Dallas teammate, Paul Arriola, scored in the 62nd minute. Those goals matter and the finishes that he had were excellent. “Although it took a bit to get into top gear, we certainly did.”

AUSTIN, Texas – The US men's national team played their final home match before the Qatar 2022 World Cup on Friday evening, beating Grenada by a 5-0 ...

Earlier in the day, he secured a $12 million transfer from Tottenham to Celtic. Acosta represented the Texas contingent well, getting an assist and showing the versatility that'll make it hard to leave him off the World Cup squad. It was just his second cap since filing a one-time change of association from Germany. Against Grenada, Turner simply didn't have anything to do, not facing a single shot on goal the entirety of the match. The Juventus midfielder doesn't appear back at 100% following his broken foot. Turner pitched a shutout in this very stadium nearly a year ago in a Gold Cup semifinal against a tenacious Qatar team.

After a slow first half, the U.S. men's national team scores four second-half goals to rout Grenada, 5-0, in the CONCACAF Nations League in Austin.

Right back Reggie Cannon mistouched one in the 19th minute, Ferreira made heavy touch inside the penalty box in the 34th minute – both goal-scoring opportunities. Ferreira would go on to score three additional goals in the second half, but the central midfield pairing of Kellyn Acosta and Luca de la Torre ignited the U.S. going forward. Only Weston McKennie carried over from Sunday's match against Uruguay in the midfield lineup. Prior to Ferreira scoring his first goal in the 43rd minute, the U.S. had just one shot on goal, notably against the 170th-ranked team in the world. He played 71 minutes, adding an assist to his stat sheet. During the final month of the USMNT's World Cup Qualifying cycle in March, Ferreira had scored one of five U.S. goals to beat Panama in Orlando. But prior to that, the center forward position had scored three goals in qualifying – all from Ricardo Pepi.

After strong showings in friendlies against Morocco and Uruguay, the United States men's national team is set to embark on a new challenge as they begin ...

With Weston McKennie still on the road to recovery, there's no reason why Aaronson can't get the lion's share of minutes to prepare for what his role could be in the World Cup. The United States are still in need of a backup at left back and while Sergino Dest can play there in a pinch, more of the Scally that showed up against Morocco and less of the one that played against Uruguay could give him a leg up on George Bello as Antonee Robinson's direct backup. What the United States are trying to solve is not new as lots of teams struggle to break down the opponent's low block. When you don't have space to get in behind a deep defensive shape, it can get tricky to pick the lock and find the back of the net. Those who have been involved in World Cup qualifying might be safe, but for players such as Joe Scally, Sean Johnson, Haji Wright and others, it's just as important to see that they can compete in Concacaf as it is a different challenge. Facing Grenada at Q2 Stadium in Austin seems like a manageable task for the squad, so Gregg Berhalter will be watching to see if his players take the game seriously in the heat.

With the U.S. in dire need of a reliable forward for the World Cup, the FC Dallas star put on a strong audition, albeit against an overmatched opponent.

My one-twos are my first touch and runs in behind, so then I can get my final product—which is a three—which is the goal,” he added. Arriola scored a deserved goal in the 62nd minute on an assist from de la Torre, and Ferreira notched his fourth off a nice run and deft touch from Aaronson, who had entered a few minutes earlier. For me, I think I have a good group of people around me that help me stay focused, and know that the goals will come,” he said. There are still five months to go, but Berhalter can feel good about the fact that several players accepted his challenge and performed with big-game intensity—despite the low-stakes surroundings. Ferreira had a good chance in the 33rd minute against Grenada thanks to a beautiful through ball from Acosta, but his first touch took him too wide to get a decent shot off. Ferreira started between Jordan Morris and Arriola and, early on, showed the same sort of smart running and ability to find the ball in dangerous spots that he displayed in previous U.S. appearances. After a languid 40-plus minutes, Ferreira brought the evening—and his World Cup prospects—to life with three goals in 13 minutes on either side of intermission, followed by a late fourth. Otherwise, Friday night was about Ferreira, his FC Dallas teammate Paul Arriola, Plano native (it’s near Dallas) Kellyn Acosta and Luca de la Torre, who has no connection to Texas but who may have taken a step toward the World Cup roster there. Grenada wasn’t going to help his team get ready for World Cup foes Wales, England or Iran. The Spice Boys, who have an awesome nickname but just one victory in more than two years, started a side featuring four USL Championship players, four men from the fifth-through-seventh divisions in England, a member of Queen’s Park Rangers’ youth academy and two players from the island nation’s semi-pro league. “We know that the game is going to be about our mindset, our intensity, what we're bringing to this game,” Berhalter said during the build-up. This already was just about the least climactic sendoff possible, coming more than five months before the World Cup and against a team ranked 170th on the planet. After this month’s friendlies against Morocco and Uruguay, the Americans had just four matches remaining before leaving for Qatar: the game against Grenada, next Tuesday’s Nations League tilt at El Salvador and then two September exhibitions in Europe.

The U.S. men's national team begins defense of its Concacaf Nations League title tonight in Austin, Texas, with a group-stage opener against Grenada at Q2.

SBI will be providing updates throughout the night in the comments section below so please feel free to follow along here. ( LINK) ( LINK)

The USMNT needed a forward to step up, and Jesus Ferreira did, but Grenada's lack of quality is a caveat in FC Dallas front man's four-goal game.

"But definitely there was a lot of opportunities for us that -- maybe it's the heat, maybe it's fatigue. "He's been amazing since he's been with the national team, really," Arriola said. Stars Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams didn't dress and a heavily rotated lineup included multiple players projected to be on the World Cup roster bubble. His ability to glide forward and play his teammates into space was on display all game. "I think that anytime a player is under pressure, you look for how they respond," Berhalter said. Earlier in the day, U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter had sensed Ferreira had been feeling the pressure.

The U.S. men's national team turned in a thoroughly professional 90 minutes in Austin, Texas, securing a win to begin Nations League play.

Ferreira made his 12th USMNT appearance in this game and has now raised his scoring tally to seven goals. The 21-year-old FC Dallas forward opened scoring late in the first half by dribbling into some space and firing into the bottom left corner. The USMNT triumphed 5-0 over Grenada with standout performances from several players who are well in the mix for World Cup roster spots.

FRISCO, Texas \- FC Dallas Homegrown Jesús Ferreira tied a U.S. Men's National Team record by scoring four goals in the U.S.'s 5-0 win over Grenada at Q2 ...

FRISCO, Texas - FC Dallas Homegrown Jesús Ferreira tied a U.S. Men's National Team record by scoring four goals in the U.S.'s 5-0 win over Grenada at Q2 Stadium in Austin Friday night. Ferreira completed his first USMNT hat trick two minutes later with a curling effort into the top corner following a low cross from former FCD Homegrown Kellyn Acosta. Ferreira (who leads the MLS Golden Boot race with nine goals) found the opener after Arriola's low cross deflected off the Grenada defender and fell kindly to the FCD Homegrown who made no mistake and tucked it into the bottom corner.

The goals were difficult for Jesus Ferreira and the U.S. men's national team to find through the first 42 minutes of Friday's Concacaf Nations League ...

The FC Dallas striker converted a calm finish to give the Americans a two-goal cushion and set off celebrations in Austin. What did you think of the match? Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams were left off the squad while regular starters such as Yunus Musah, Tim Weah and Walker Zimmerman began the night on the bench, presenting opportunities for several fringe players hoping to boost their World Cup stock.

The USMNT played its last stateside game before the 2022 World Cup on Friday night. The next step? A five-month wait.

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The U.S. men's national team striker pool has been a bit of a cursed bunch over the past year, with several candidates for the starting role falling victim ...

I want to just stay in the present. “I don’t really want to think that much ahead,” Ferreira said of the prospect of being the USMNT starting striker at the World Cup. “There’s a lot of good players out there that can take care of that spot. I talked to him this afternoon and I told him that we don’t judge him just based on goals. “I don’t want to think too much ahead of that. But learning that I can move on from that and still stay at a high level, that’s what I’ve been working on a lot. Berhalter first deployed Ferreira in a striker role that felt more like false-nine than traditional striker, then former USMNT assistant Nico Estevez was hired by FC Dallas and implemented the same system the USMNT runs and proceeded to plug Ferreira into the striker role left vacant by Pepi’s transfer.