United States vs. El Salvador, Concacaf Nations League: Final Score 1-0 as Ricardo Pepi Lifts USMNT into Semifinals

Ricardo Pepi scored in the second half to lift the United States Men’s National Team to a 1-0 win over El Salvador in Concacaf Nations League play at Exploria Stadium in Orlando. With the win, the United States improved to 6-0-0 at Exploria Stadium and qualified for the Nations League semifinals.

“I don’t think we probably set the team up in a way that really helped them in the first half,” USMTN Interim Manager Anthony Hudson said after the match. “I think we made a couple of changes in the second half. It helped the team. The old cliche, two halves. The second half was way better. And then I have to give credit to El Salvador because I think coming off the back of a 7-1 win and playing at home, the confidence is high. And they’re a very tough team to play against.”

Hudson’s starting lineup was a strong one, starting with Matt Turner in goal behind a back line of Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Tim Ream, and Sergino Dest. The midfield consisted of Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, and Christian Pulisic behind a forward line of Alex Zendejas, Gio Reyna, and former Orlando City striker Daryl Dike, who returned to his old home stadium.

The first half didn’t present many clear-cut chances and El Salvador’s strategy of gumming up the USMNT’s attacking third worked well as the Yanks struggled to sustain pressure due to poor touches and less-than-ideal passes. The hosts seemed to be trying too hard to be perfect at times and the ball movement was either too slow or just not precise enough for much of the opening half.

The first chance of the game fell for the visitors, as Jairo Henriquez blasted a shot on goal in the second minute that forced a great diving stop by Turner.

“I knew it was a 1-v-1 situation versus the defender and I saw Weston pick up his head,” Pepi said about the game-winning play. “And I know he has the quality to play me that ball that I was looking for and he played the perfect ball, to be honest. And then I saw the goalkeeper come out and I just chipped him. It was a big eye contact thing. As soon as (McKennie) picked up his head, I knew he saw me and he saw the run I made and I was 1-v-1 versus the goalkeeper.”

The goalkeeper landed hard on his left side and needed some treatment from the training staff a few minutes later but he was able to play on.

The United States attack was thwarted with strategic fouling whenever the Yanks got into dangerous positions. However, the U.S. couldn’t execute on its set pieces. There was a good flick on from a Pulisic free kick in the 12th minute but it was just a bit too far out in front for Ream to get onto it.

Reyna fired from outside the area in the 29th minute butMario Gonzalez got down to make the save, knocking it out for a corner.

Dike drew a few fouls in the attacking end but nothing came from them. One of them in the 30th minute came after the big striker stole the ball and headed toward the box and was knocked down from behind. The foul should have resulted in a yellow card for a tactical foul halting a transition chance but referee Mario Escobar did not book the offending El Salvador defender.

Dest fizzed in a great cross in the 42nd minute for Pulisic but the captain couldn’t direct it on target and the chance was wasted.

That was it for a first half that saw the visitors fashion very little but the hosts were frustrated by the lack of space in the attacking end and everyone seemed reluctant to shoot when given space just outside the area. Dike didn’t receive much service and the closest anyone came to picking him out was snuffed out by good defending in the air as a well-timed bump from the center back kept him from getting onto a good cross from the right side.

The United States dominated the stat sheet in the first half, winning the battle of possession (57.3%-42.7%), shots (6-1), shots on target (2-1), passing accuracy (86.5%-76.3%), and corners (5-2).

“The first half, they put a lot of bodies centrally, so it made it a little bit more difficult to find pockets of space, to run in behind and do things,” Dike said. “But obviously with the good players we have here we were still moving them around, trying to create chances. At the end of the day, this man right here [grabbing Pepi] did a good job and saved the day.”

The USMNT came out of the locker room buzzing and nearly broke the deadlock seconds after the restart. A good ball from Pulisic sent Reyna down the left and he cut inside and unleashed a shot. The blast came off the left post but no one could get onto it.

Moments later, Pulisic fizzed a cross to the top of the six that came off a defender and skipped wide of the right post for a corner. On the set piece, the ball pinged around dangerously and fell to Ream, who fired a shot off a defender and it was eventually headed behind by the defense to relieve the pressure.

McKennie nodded a looping header over the keeper on the subsequent corner but it went just over the bar and landed on the roof of the net.

Zendejas nearly opened the scoring in the 52nd minute, chipping a shot over the keeper from inside the area but Bryan Tamacas cleared it off the line and out for a corner at the last second.

The second decent look for El Salvador came in the 60th minute when Mayer Gil fizzed a shot wide of the left post from outside the box.

Pepi then subbed on for Dike and it was a pivotal moment. Just moments after entering the pitch, Pepi made a run and Mckennie spotted him, sending a gorgeous ball down the right side of the box. Pepi ran onto it, fought off a defender, and chipped Gonzalez to open the scoring in the 62nd minute.

El Salvador had a chance to equalize three minutes later when a rare cross into the box nearly found Brayan Landaverde but he couldn’t make good contact with the ball.

The visitors started pushing numbers forward as the time wound down and it opened up some spaces on the counter. Substitute Taylor Booth picked out Pepi in the 79th minute and the former FC Dallas man fired a shot but the defense got a slight deflection and it went behind. A few minutes later, Dest picked out Pepi but the forward needed a touch to gain control and when he recovered, his shot was blocked by Gonzalez.

Pulisic had a chance to put the game away in the first minute of stoppage time, taking a pass from Brenden Aaronson to free himself up inside the area but he got under his shot, which sailed high.

That was the last good look for either side and the USMNT had the win it needed to advance to Las Vegas for the final four in the competition.

The U.S. finished with the advantage in possession (58.3%-41.7%), shots (16-4), shots on target (4-1 — the official stats have the visitors without a shot on goal but Turner definitely appeared to make a save in the second minute, so I’m giving them one), passing accuracy (87.5%-81%), and corners (13-2).

“(Hugo Perez) always has a very clear plan of how to have his teams play, and they made it very difficult for us,” Hudson said. “The second half, we were far more compact, for the most part, which allowed us to get closer to them when we put pressure on. We won the first ball and we had players close enough to win the second ball. So, I think that was something that that helped us.”

“It’s a great, great feeling,” Dike said about returning to Exploria Stadium to play and getting a warm reception. “It means a lot because this place gave me the first chance. The fans were always welcoming me. And then coming back, and after leaving and maybe a difficult decision, seeing everyone still supporting me no matter what is a great feeling, for sure.”

The USMNT will head to Las Vegas in June to battle it out for the tournament trophy.