U.S. men’s national team routs El Salvador 6-0 in friendly at Inter Miami CF Stadium
A limited crowd of 2,500 fans – masked and bundled up for the chilly weather – showed up at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday night to see the domestic edition of the U.S. men’s national team take on regional rival El Salvador in a friendly.
They witnessed an onslaught, as U.S. players scored five goals during an 11-minute first-half stretch and added another in the second half for a 6-0 win.
El Salvadoran goalkeeper Henry Hernandez surely will be having nightmares of navy-blue jerseys after being peppered with shots from left, right and center. The Americans dominated from start to finish and gave coach Gregg Berhalter a good idea what this group can add to the Europe-based group that tied Wales 0-0 and beat Panama 6-2 last month.
This squad of players, all of whom but two play for MLS clubs, were eager to show they are worthy of notice, as much of the attention these days is heaped on the talented group of young Americans based in European clubs.
Although El Salvador was clearly overmatched, the MLS players made their case.
“These guys knew everyone was watching the games (from Europe) in November and they knew a bar was set and they wanted to reach that bar,” Berhalter said.
The scoring got started in the 17th minute when D.C. United’s Paul Arriola, back on the squad 10 months after knee surgery, scored on a cross-body shot off an assist from Orlando City’s Chris Mueller, who escaped a sliding tackle to keep the play alive. It was Arriola’s second match back since surgery after playing in D.C.’s season finale.
Berhalter pumped his fists and looked thrilled to see Arriola back in form.
“It almost brought me to tears because you imagine what he’s gone through this year,” Berhalter said. “In January he played his last game for us, played just one game and for him to come back and play at this level was really impressive. I am really proud of Paul and his comeback. It’s a great story.”
Arriola called the night “special” and said setting the tone early was a key to the victory. “The goal was the icing on the cake, the main thing was the team executing,” he said. “The level is clearly rising and that’s what you want from your national team. That killer instinct was good to see, not taking our foot off the pedal.”
The U.S. team was just getting started.
Three minutes later, the lead was 2-0 after a goal by Mueller, his first of two on the night. Sebastian Lletget of the Los Angeles Galaxy made it 3-0 in the 23rd minute after taking a through ball from Philadelphia Union’s Brenden Aaronson and scoring on a deflected chip shot that looped over Hernandez.
While the fans were still chanting “USA! USA!” the Americans made it 4-0, this one on a diving header by Mueller on a perfectly-placed cross by Galaxy defender Julian Araujo.
Mueller, who played at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was making his national team debut. He said he was a bit nervous at the start of camp, but Berhalter told him he was there for a reason and to “just be Chris Mueller.” He said it was especially gratifying to score two goals because he took the college route, rather than turning pro out of high school.
“I didn’t take the normal route, but I matured in those four years of college and it helped me get to this point,” Mueller said. “It is exciting to represent that crest and those colors. My dad and fiancee were in the stands, and that made it really special.”
Then, in the 28th minute, it was time for Ayo Akinola, Toronto FC’s dynamic young forward, playing his national team debut, to join in the fun. Mueller had the ball near the goal and could have gone for a hat trick. Instead, he unselfishly sent a low pass to Akinola, who was waiting front and center.
By the time the halftime whistle blew, the United States was ahead 5-0.
Aaronson, the Philadelphia Union midfielder heading to Austrian club RB Salzburg, gave the U.S. team a 6-0 lead in the 50th minute, after finding himself unmarked in front of the goal. Lletget had the assist.
“It was a strong performance by the guys making their debuts,” Berhalter said. “Chris (Mueller) got a couple of goals, Ayo scored a goal. Julian was very good, aggressive defensively, and had an assist. Overall I really like the mentality of the group. They were really determined, aggressive and that’s the type of football we want to play and we showed we can do it.”
Arriola said there is American talent on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and the best players will rise to the occasion as the Olympics and World Cup qualifiers start in 2021. “I try not to think about Europe-MLS. The guys who are the best players will be there for World Cup qualifiers. All I can do is show up to each camp and do my best. That is all any of us can do.”
Lineups:
USA: 1-Bill Hamid, 2-Julian Araujo, 3-Aaron Long (capt.), 4-Mark McKenzie, 6-Jackson Yueill, 7-Paul Arriola, 8-Brenden Aaronson, 9-Ayo Akinola, 11-Chris Mueller, 13-Sam Vines, 17- Sebastian Lletget
Substitutes: 12-JT Marcinkowski, 21-CJ Dos Santos, 5-Walker Zimmerman, 10-Kellyn Acosta, 14-Djordje Mihailovic,15-Marco Farfan, 16-Kyle Duncan, 18-Mauricio Pineda, 20-Cole Bassett, 22-Sebastian Soto
EL SALVADOR: 1-Henry Hernandez (capt.), 3-Roberto Dominguez, 4-Ican Mancia, 6-Narciso Orellana, 7-Darwin Ceren, 8-Denis Pineda, 9-David Diaz, 11-Joaquin Rivas, 12-Marvin Monterrosa, 15-Jonathan Jimenez, 17-Ruben Marroquin
Substitutes: 5-Alexander Mendoza, 10-Duston Corea, 13-Alexander Larin, 14-Andres Flores, 16-Rodrigo Rivera, 20-Pablo Punyed, 21-Bryan Tamacas
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 9:37 PM.