Jesús Ferreira bags second straight hat trick as USMNT routs Trinidad and Tobago

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The U.S. Men’s National Team rode another standout performance from forward Jesús Ferreira to a 6-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago in the final match of Concacaf Gold Cup group play on Sunday night before 40,243 fans at Bank of America Stadium.

Ferreira registered a first-half hat trick, while Cade Cowell, Gianluca Busio and Brandon Vazquez added second-half goals as the USA clinched the top spot in Group A with a better goal differential than Jamaica, which also finished with 7 points.

The USMNT will next play the second-place team from Group D in the Gold Cup quarterfinals on Sunday, July 9 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio (8 p.m. ET; FOX and Univision Networks). Group D will conclude on July 4, with Guadeloupe, Guatemala and Canada in line to finish first or second. The USMNT has advanced to the quarterfinals of all 17 editions of the Gold Cup.

The 22-year-old Ferreira – who also scored three against St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday – became the first USMNT player to register hat tricks in consecutive matches. Cowell and Busio each scored their first international goals, the 19-year-old Cowell doing so just over a month after leading the USA with three goals at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, while the 21-year-old Busio did so down the road from his hometown of Greensboro, N.C. Vazquez scored his second of the tournament and third overall late in stoppage time. On the defensive side of things, Matt Turner made three saves to earn his 20th shutout and 20th win – the most of any U.S. goalkeeper in both categories with 30 appearances.

The USMNT picked up right where they left off midweek having recorded a matching scoreline against St. Kitts, looking bright from the opening whistle. Ferreira got things going at the quarter hour when he finished a nice build-up which included left back DeJuan Jones being involved from his own half and providing his first career assist as Ferreira finished from close range.

While overmatched, the Soca Warriors did have a few threatening chances, first from Joevin Jones attempting a volley that sailed over the crossbar and then Levi Garcia forcing U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner to stay focused and make a save from a close-range shot.

The USA stayed in control and doubled the lead in the 38th when Ferreira got a rebound off goalkeeper Marvin Phillip and shot on goal, eluding the attempt by defender Sheldon Bateau to clear it off the line.

Ferreira finished his first-half hat trick in stoppage time, when he converted a penalty kick after Djordje Mihailovic was taken down in the box.

Turner kept Trinidad off the board again early in the second when he came off his line to deny Garcia from close range and then could only watch as Shannon Gomez rattled a blast from distance off the left post.

The USMNT took back control minutes later, as second-half substitute Cowell picked off a back pass and went alone at goal before rounding the ‘keeper for his debut goal. Minutes later Cowell nearly added another but his shot from inside the box clanked off the left post.

Busio then added his goal with 10 minutes left from 12 yards out and Vazquez ended the rout with a nifty chip from the left side deep in stoppage time.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

USA – Jesus Ferreira (DeJuan Jones), 14th minute: A seemingly routine thrown-in deep in the defensive half led to the opening goal. Bryan Reynolds and James Sands combined short passes before Sands split two defenders to find Djordje Mihailovic, who quickly turned and advanced it to left back DeJuan Jones in the middle of the U.S. half. Jones took the ball across midfield and played it forward to Cristian Roldan, who waited for Jones to continue his run into the box before giving it back. The New England Revolution fullback quickly played a short ball centrally to Ferreira, who hit a shot from eight yards out past goalkeeper Marvin Phillip for his 12th international goal. USA 1, TRI 0

USA – Jesus Ferreira (unassisted), 38th minute: Attacking left of center, Mihailovic fed Alex Zendejas, who approached the end line before crossing to the back post. Ferreira caught up to it and attempted to play it across, but goalkeeper Marvin Phillip got hands on it. The ball fell back to Ferreira, who shot with his left on the open goal. Defender Sheldon Bateau tried to stop it on the line, but couldn’t keep it out as Ferreira became the first USMNT player to register multi-goal games in back-to-back competitive matches. USA 2, TRI 0

USA – Jesus Ferreira (penalty kick), 45+3 minute: With his attacking mindset, Mihailovic entered the area and was taken down by defender Alvin Jones as he attempted a cross from the left and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. Ferreira stepped up and hit a solid shot left of center to complete his hat trick. USA 3, TRI 0

USA – Cade Cowell (unassisted), 65th minute: Cowell jumped on a misplayed ball by Trinidad forward Kadeem Corbin, who attempted to pass it back to his goalkeeper from midfield. The San Jose Earthquakes forward picked off the pass some 40 yards from goal, ran at the goalkeeper and rounded him before finishing for his first career international goal. USA 4, TRI 0

USA – Gianluca Busio (Julian Gressel), 79th minute: Second-half subs Gressel and DeAndre Yedlin combined on the right attacking end, with Gressel staying onside before cutting a pass back to the 12-yard spot, where Busio finished calmly with a low shot to the right for his first international goal. USA 5, TRI 0

USA – Brandon Vazquez (Cade Cowell), 90+4 minute: Cowell took a ball just past midfield and advanced forward, threading a nice pass to Vazquez who chipped goalkeeper Marvin Phillip from a tight angle on the left side for his third international goal. USA 6, TRI 0

Additional Notes:

• The USA holds a 21-3-4 all-time advantage against Trinidad and Tobago and is 5-0-0 against the Soca Warriors in the Concacaf Gold Cup. The 21 wins against Trinidad are the USMNT’s second most against any international opponent behind only Mexico (23 wins).
• The USMNT is 40-1-5 all-time in the Gold Cup group stage and 20-0-2 against Caribbean opposition during the tournament’s first round.
• With an average age of 24 years, 131 days, the lineup was the USMNT’s fifth youngest in 88 Gold Cup matches all-time.
• The lineup also averaged 14 caps overall and 10 appearances in official competition.
• Jesús Ferreira became the first player to record hat tricks in back-to-back USMNT matches, taking his international total to 14 goals in 21 appearances. With his third hat trick, the 22-year-old also sits tied with Landon Donovan for the most in team history.
• Ferreira’s first-half hat trick (14’, 38’, 45+3’) was the fourth in team history in the opening stanza. The others: Brian McBride (Jan. 27, 2002 vs. El Salvador; 9’ 11’, 21’), Chris Wondolowski (July 9, 2013 vs. Belize; 12’, 37’, 41’), Weston McKennie (October 11, 2019 vs. Cuba; 1’, 5’, 13’)
• With six goals to his name in three tournament appearances, Ferreira sits atop the Gold Cup Golden Boot race and is tied with DaMarcus Beasley (6 G / 23 GP) and Gyasi Zardes (6 G / 22 GP) for sixth on the all-time USMNT scoring list in the competition.
• Eleven of Ferreira’s 14 international goals have come in official competition, tying him for 10th on the USMNT scoring list in competitive matches: Clint Dempsey (41 G / 89 GP), Landon Donovan (38 G / 94 GP), Jozy Altidore (24 G / 65 GP), Brian McBride (23 G / 54 GP), Christian Pulisic (21 G / 45 GP), Eric Wynalda (19 G / 46 GP), Eddie Johnson (16 G / 30 GP), DaMarcus Beasley (13 G / 75 GP), Michael Bradley (12 G / 85 GP), Jesús Ferreira (11 G / 12 GP), Earnie Stewart (11 G / 59 GP).
• Ferreira’s hat-trick clincher in first-half stoppage time came in his first penalty attempt for the USMNT.
• Just a month after leading the USA with three goals at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, Cade Cowell registered his first international goal and assist off the bench, tallying in the 55th minute before providing the helper on Vazquez’s goal in second-half stoppage time.
• The 19-year-old Cowell became the fifth teenager to register a goal and assist in a USMNT match: Christian Pulisic (3 games), Landon Donovan, Ricardo Pepi and Gio Reyna (1 game each). He is the 26th different teenager to score a goal for the USMNT.
• Playing in his home state of North Carolina, Gianluca Busio scored his first career international goal. The midfielder hails from Greensboro, N.C., about 90 minutes from Charlotte.
• Brandon Vazquez recorded his third international goal and second of the tournament in second-half stoppage time.
• On a night where he became the seventh USMNT goalkeeper to earn 30 caps, Matt Turner made three saves to earn the 20th shutout and 20th win of his international career. Turner is the fastest USMNT goalkeeper to 20 in both categories, besting Kasey Keller who earned his 20th shutout in his 46th cap and Tim Howard who earned his 20th win in his 33rd.
• Starting his second straight match, DeJuan Jones collected his first career assist on Ferreira’s opening goal in the 13th.
• Substitute Julian Gressel collected his second assist in just four appearances on Busio’s goal.
• The USA’s 13 group stage goals are its most all time, besting the 11 goals scored in 2013 and 2019.
• The back-to-back 6-0 results mark the first time the USMNT has scored six or more goals in consecutive, competitive matches.
• Defender Miles Robinson returned from injury, making his first appearance since starting the Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Mexico on June 15 in Las Vegas.
• Nineteen-year-old Jalen Neal became just the second center back under the age of 20 to start back-to-back matches in official competition. Neal joins Mike Windischmann, who was also 19 when he started three consecutive World Cup qualifiers between May 19 and May 31, 1985.
• Cristian Roldan earned his first start since the 1-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Dec. 18, 2021.
• James Sands made his ninth consecutive appearance in the Concacaf Gold Cup. Sands has played in every Gold Cup match dating back to the 2021 tournament opener against Haiti.
• Djordje Mihailovic started back-to-back USMNT matches for the first time since his first two caps on Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, 2019 against Panama and Costa Rica, respectively.
• Alan Soñora was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain and was unavailable for selection, while Aidan Morris has been given permission to depart camp for personal reasons.

– U.S. Men’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Trinidad and Tobago
Date: July 2, 2023
Competition: 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup; Group A
Venue: Bank of America Stadium; Charlotte, N.C.
Attendance: 40,243
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: 90 degrees; partly cloudy

Scoring Summary:   1          2          F
USA                            3          3          6
TRI                              0          0          0

USA – Jesús Ferreira (DeJuan Jones)          14th minute
USA – Jesús Ferreira                                     38
USA – Jesús Ferreira (penalty kick)              45+3
USA – Cade Cowell                                        65
USA – Gianluca Busio (Julian Gressel)         79
USA – Brandon Vazquez (Cade Cowell)       90+4

Lineups:

USA: 1-Matt Turner (capt.); 5-Bryan Reynolds (2-DeAndre Yedlin, 77), 12-Miles Robinson (4-Matt Miazga, 46), 20-Jalen Neal, 15-DeJuan Jones; 6-Gianluca Busio, 8-James Sands, 14-Djordje Mihailovic (19-Brandon Vazquez, 70); 17-Alex Zendejas (11-Cade Cowell, 61), 9-Jesús Ferreira, 10-Cristian Roldan (22-Julian Gressel, 61)

Substitutes not used: 18-Sean Johnson, 23-Gabriel Slonina, 3-Aaron Long, 7-Alan Soñora, 13-Jordan Morris, 21-John Tolkin

Head Coach: B.J. Callaghan

TRI: 1-Marvin Phillip; 16-Alvin Jones, 5-Leland Archer, 4-Sheldon Bateau, 18-Triston Hodge (9-Kadeem Corbin, 65); 11-Levi Garcia, 6-Luke Singh (14-Shannon Gomez, 46), 15-Neveal Hackshaw, 3-Joevin Jones (17-Andre Rampersad, 46); 10-Kevin Molino (capt.) (13-Real Gill, 46), 19-Malcolm Shaw (20-Kaile Auvray, 70)

Substitutes not used: 21-Nicklas Frenderup, 22-Denzil Smith, 2-Aubrey David, 7-Ryan Telfer, 8-Ajani Fortune, 12-Kareem Moses, 23-Molik Khan

Head Coach: Angus Eve

Stats Summary: USA / TRI
Shots: 23 / 9
Shots on Goal: 8 / 3
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 5 / 4
Fouls: 11 / 7
Offside: 1 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
TRI – Kevin Molino (caution)              39th minute
USA – Jalen Neal (caution)                53

Officials:
Referee: Mario Escobar (GUA)
AR1: Luis Ventura (GUA)
AR2: Humberto Panjoj (GUA)
4th Official: Randy Encarnacion (DOM)
VAR: Benjamin Pineda (CRC)
Assistant VAR: Ricardo Montero (CRC)

Man of the Match: Jesús Ferreira