The US men's national team made it two out of two wins in their January camp, beating Costa Rica 3-0 Wednesday night at Orlando City SC's Inter&Co Stadium.
Brian White and Caden Clark opened their USMNT accounts, while Patrick Agyemang scored for the second straight game to improve head coach Mauricio Pochettino's record in charge to 5W-1L-0D.
White broke the ice in the 21st minute, with the Vancouver Whitecaps striker beating goalkeeper Esteban Alvarado at the far post on a precise service from Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna to give the hosts the deserved lead.
Despite their spells of dominance, the US could very well have ended up on the wrong end of the scoreline if not for Zack Steffen. The Colorado Rapids 'keeper made two spectacular saves on either side of halftime, including an acrobatic effort to swipe away Alan Cruz's goal-bound shot in the second half.
Clark gave the US some late breathing room with a spectacular first-time finish from the edge of the box. Four days after marking his international debut with a goal, Agyemang scored again and put the game to bed in the 90th minute.
Goals
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Pochettino wanted to see what the country's MLS-based talent could do, and they delivered. Five players (White, Clark, Agyemang, Jack McGlynn and Matko Miljevic) netted their first national team goals as the US cruised to wins over Venezuela and Costa by a combined 6-1 scoreline. Now the question is whether anybody has earned future call-ups from the Argentine manager with the Concacaf Nations League and Concacaf Gold Cup coming up later this year.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: White's opener paved the way to victory and set the tone for a US side that ended their January camp on a high note.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Luna pulled the strings in attack, provided a peach of an assist and even bled for his country - all in just 45 minutes of action. It's exactly the performance the RSL standout needed to leave an impression on Pochettino.
Next Up
- USA: March 20 vs. Panama (7 pm ET) | Concacaf Nations League
