U.S. soccer cruises to Gold Cup victory over Martinique at Children’s Mercy Park

The 2021 iteration of the Gold Cup is seen by many U.S. fans as an opportunity for some of this country’s younger soccer stars to impress on the big stage.

That didn’t happen in the U.S. side’s opening game against Haiti last weekend, when an American team filled to the seams with MLS experience eked out a 1-0 victory.

But on Thursday evening, the vision of a youthful men’s national team was realized when a U.S. squad with an average age of 23 cruised to a 6-1 win over Martinique at Children’s Mercy Park.

“That’s the whole reason why we picked this roster and the reason why it was so important for us to battle test these guys before World Cup qualifying,” said U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter. “It’s going to be great, really looking forward to it.”

The effort was pushed by a pair of goals from 21-year-old Daryl Dike, who became the second-youngest player to score a brace in U.S. men’s national team history, slotting in behind Christian Pulisic.

An own-goal from Martinique’s Samuel Camille denied Dike a hat trick. Second-half goals from Miles Robinson, Gyasi Zardes and KC hometown kid Nico Gioachhini completed the rout for the U.S.

Martinique’s lone goal came via a penalty just after the hour mark.

The announced crowd was 7,511. And once the U.S. lineup was posted, that crowd got loud. Names such as Sporting KC homegrown Gianluca Busio (19 years old), Matthew Hoppe (20), George Bello (19) and Dike (21) were among the starters.

And the kids impressed.

“It’s a nice feeling when you give guys opportunities and they take advantage of it,” Berhalter said.

“I look at some of the other younger guys, like Busio, Bello, (James) Sands, Robinson, it was a really young group today, and to have that performance and game, we wanted to win and we wanted to improve and we wanted to win convincingly. I think it shows the type of quality we have.”

Dike opened the scoring in the 14th minute, placing home an excellent header from his strike partner, Hoppe.

The game was the first in Hoppe’s pro career playing in front of a crowd. The winger made his debut for German team Schalke during the COVID-19 pandemic and, Germany’s yet to welcome fans back to the stands.

The score was doubled less than 10 minutes later. Earning his first international start, Busio received the ball at his feet in the box and fired a shot past Martinique goalkeeper Gilles Meslien. It looked destined for the back of the net.

Instead, the ball cracked off the underside of the crossbar, bounced just a couple of inches from the goal line, and spun back out toward a mess of players in the box. Dike was first to the loose ball and his header tumbled home.

The U.S. carried a 66% possession advantage into halftime and didn’t slow in the second half. Robinson extended the lead to 3-0 in the 50th minute on a header.

The duo of Busio and Williamson arguably controlled the game for the U.S. Busio dictated the tempo and Williamson looked to turn and attack every time he had the ball.

Dike claimed his second goal in the 59th minute before being substituted off in favor of veteran Zardes, who added a goal of his own.

“I think he performed well and scored some good goals,” Berhalter said of Dike. “He showed why we really rate him and think he’s an important part of our team.”

But the true excitement for Kansas Citians came at the end. As the clock ticked past 90 minutes, Busio slotted a low pass across the face of the goal to 20-year-old Overland Park-born Gioacchini. The roar of the crowd was loudest then.

The win secured the U.S. side’s qualification from Group B into the Gold Cup’s knockout stage, but the U.S. sits behind Canada on goals scored.

Canada defeated Haiti 4-1 before the U.S.-Martinique game. With the U.S. and Canada tied on goal differential, Canada holds the group’s top spot by virtue of having scored one more goal than the Canadians.

“We pushed and unfortunately we didn’t score that last one,” midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “But we’re still in good position to get first in the group, and that’s the goal that we’re setting ...”

The U.S. and Canada meet for first place Sunday at 4 p.m.

This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 11:21 PM with the headline "U.S. soccer cruises to Gold Cup victory over Martinique at Children’s Mercy Park."