Second half flurry pushes United States to victorious Gold Cup opener

The United States begin their march toward a seventh Gold Cup title with an up-and-down 4-0 victory over Group D opponent Guyana on Tuesday night.

It was a shaky first half, but at the end of the night it was the United States Men’s National Team taking all three points to begin their group stage at the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The pressure is on for the United States after two disappointing showings in the tune-up matches for the Gold Cup tournament, and the Americans are out to prove themselves.

The USMNT began quickly, putting Guyana on the back foot early while holding close to sixty percent of the possession in the first half.

The United States’ first true chance came from Christian Pulisic directly in front of goal, but was denied by a great save from Guyana keeper Akel Clarke.

However, moments later, the United States would find the breakthrough.

In the 28th minute, Weston McKinnie found Paul Arriola streaking to the left side of the box. Arriola blasted a shot past Clarke to put the Americans ahead 1-0.

It would stay that way through the rest of the first half, as the United States continued applying pressure, but Guyana refusing to break.

The first half was a frustrating display for many USMNT supporters. The team had dominated Guyana for 45 minutes and only had a one-goal lead to show for it.

The United States would create some breathing room at the beginning of the second half when Tyler Boyd scored his first goal as a USMNT player, and the 1000th goal in the history of the national team, to put them up 2-0.

Add in an accidental Gyasi Zardes goal in the 56th minute, and the floodgates had opened for the United States.

Boyd would add his second goal in the 81st minute to give the Americans their third second half goal, to push the score to 4-0.

The squad manager Gregg Berhalter deployed for the U.S. was a nice mix of youth and experience.

Midfield stalwart Michael Bradley was a familiar face in the lineup, alongside Pulisic and Zardes. Mixing in McKinnie, Boyd, and Arriola gave the United States attack many of the pieces it needs to perform well in the Gold Cup.

A standout showing for the U.S. came from right back Nick Lima.

Lima is occupying the spot that many have long-expected Deandre Yedlin to fill. Injuries have kept Yedlin from fulfilling his potential and Lima took full advantage of the absence to create an abundance of chances for the United States on Tuesday.

Lima’s emergence, along with a solid showing from the other members of the back four (Tim Ream, Walker Zimmerman, and Aaron Long) should give keeper Zack Steffen the confidence he needs to be solid in-net and put behind him the out-of-character performances he had in the run-up matches to the Gold Cup.

One story that will need to be followed is the health of McKinnie moving forward, after he went down with a possible hamstring injury in the 75th minute. McKinnie is an important piece of the U.S. midfield that is considered the strongest portion of the lineup.

The United States did what they needed to do against Guyana, and that was not just win, but win convincingly.

The U.S. and Panama are fully expected to advance out of Group D and challenge for the cup title with Mexico.

As black-and-white as it may seem, anything less than an appearance in the Gold Cup final would be viewed as disappointing in Berhalter’s first official tournament.

On Tuesday night, the United States took their first step in that direction.

They will be back in action Saturday night when they look for a bit of revenge against a Trinidad and Tobago side that eliminated the USMNT from World Cup contention in the previous cycle.