The United States overcame an early scare to open their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign with a convincing 6-1 victory over St. Vincent and the Grenadines at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Friday.
The Caribbean minnows took the lead in early in the match when Oalex Anderson opened the scoring before the USMNT rattled off six unanswered goals to start their qualifying campaign off with a win. Jozy Altidore led all scorers with a brace while Bobby Wood, Fabian Johnson, Geoff Cameron, and Gyasi Zardes also got on the scoresheet.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines needed just five minutes to take the lead on Jurgen Klinsmann’s squad when Anderson capitalized on several American defensive miscues to score the game’s first goal. The lead lasted only minutes, however, as Wood pulled the USMNT level with a well-placed header off a DeAndre Yedlin cross just six minutes later.
Back on level terms, the Americans began to outclass the Caribbean side as they took the lead in the 29th minute when Fabian Johnson buried a free kick from 25 yards out to give the U.S. an advantage that they would not relinquish. Just two minutes later, Altidore scored his first of the evening when he aptly headed a Jermaine Jones flick in from close range.
Cameron gave the U.S. their fourth tally of the game in the 51st minute with a bending header that sailed over a helpless St. Vincent goalkeeper Winslow McDowall. Zardes got into the goal fest in the 58th minute when he received a through-ball from Altidore and smartly placed his shot past the goalkeeper for his third career international goal.
The LA Galaxy striker now has three goals in 18 appearances for the United States in 2015. If Zardes appears in Tuesday’s match with Trinidad and Tobago, he’ll tie Claudio Reyna’s record for most appearances by a USMNT player in their first year with the national team.
Altidore completed the scoring in the 74th minute when he launched a shot from inside the 18-yard box that deflected off a defender and into the goal.
Not only did the United States begin their bid for an eighth straight trip to the World Cup with a victory, but they also cap-tied promising young talents Darlington Nagbe and Matt Miazga, who entered the match midway through the second half.
The U.S. continues their World Cup qualifying campaign on Tuesday when they face Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of-Spain.
