You can only beat the team in front of you every week, but the USMNT did just that on Sunday night, beating Trinidad & Tobago 5-0 to open their 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup campaign.
It was a dominant-if-unsurprising performance, and while it may not have answered many of the questions around this team, it at least lifted the mood a bit.
The XI
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino returned to a more expected lineup, going with a center back pairing of Tim Ream and Chris Richards, while Luca la Torre and Sebastian Berhalter got the nod in midfield with both Tyler Adams and Johnny Cardoso out injured.
USMNT 🇺🇸 Starting XI vs Trinidad & Tobago 🇹🇹 Freese; Arfsten, Ream ©, Richards, Freeman; Berhalter, de la Torre; Luna, Tillman, McGlynn; Agyemang BENCH: Turner, Brady, Tolkin, Zimmerman, Sullivan, Downs, B.Aaronson, Robinson, Wright, Harriel, P.Aaronson, McKenzie, White
— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) 2025-06-15T20:49:39.030Z
On the pitch
It didn't take long for the USMNT to jump out to an early lead. Malik Tillman got the first of two goals after just 14 minutes, finding himself on the end of an incredibly patient chipped cross from Jack McGlynn to finish from close range. His second was even easier, when Diego Luna pounced on a poor back pass from a Trinidad defender to set him up for a tap-in.
BRACE FOR TILLMAN! 🇺🇸@USMNT up 2-0! 👏 pic.twitter.com/CM6kVNq9YA
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2025
Luna again was at the heart of things for the third goal, driving at his defender on the edge of the box and hitting a low shot at goal. The strike bounced off of a flat-footed Patrick Agyemang, taking a hefty deflection off the Charlotte FC striker and into goal.
After a comfortable but inefficient second half, the USMNT jumped out to two late goals through a pair of substitutes. Brenden Aaronson cut inside on his right foot to smash a shot under goalkeeper 40-year-old goalkeeper Marvin Phillip. Two minutes later, Haji Wright capped the afternoon off with a very similar goal, running aggressively at his defender before placing a shot perfectly into the bottom corner.
Haji Wright placed this perfectly 😤🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/rgQRpTMzgM
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2025
The big picture
The result shouldn't surprise anyone, given the comparative quality of these two sides. Despite their recent struggles, the United States heavily outmatched Trinidad in terms of individual and team quality, and were never really troubled.
The US ended their four-match losing streak emphatically. And while an uncomplicated win against a heavy underdog certainly doesn't mean things are fixed, or even answer most of the questions hovering around this team, it was at least encouraging to see them beat a team they were supposed to beat.
Three points and a plus-five goal differential is never a bad way to start a tournament.
Up next
The United States will continue their Gold Cup group stage against Saudi Arabia, playing the guest participant on Thursday at Austin's Q2 Stadium. That match kicks off at 8:15 pm CT on FS1.
Stats
Possession: USA 70% – 30% TRI
Passes completed: USA 537 – 196 TRI
Shots: USA 21 – 3 TRI
Shots on goal: USA 11 – 2 TRI
Penalty kicks: USA 0 – 0 TRI
Goals: USA 5 – 0 TRI
Expected goals: USA 2.36 – 0.51 TRI
Fouls: USA 10 – 9 TRI
Yellow cards: USA 0 – 1 TRI
Red cards: USA 0 – 0 TRI
Announced attendance:
