DENZIL SMITH
The young Trinidad GK , # 22 DENZIL SMITH did his part and more to keep his team with a clean sheet in the first half and avoiding a beat up on the 2nd half . US only broke the barrier in the end of the game , at minute 82 .
The U . S . came out determined in the second half , stringing together chance after chance , each time looking more likely to score . They almost earned a penalty kick in the 60th minute after an apparent foul on McKennie inside the box , but a VAR review overturned it .
The Americans found a fresh rhythm after Pepi and forward Brenden Aaronson came off the bench in the 66th minute , leading to more numbers in the box and more looks on goal . The team finally found its break in the 82nd minute as Pepi came up with a brilliant flick with the outside of his foot to finish a cross from Antonee Robinson from the left side to break the deadlock .
The floodgates opened from there as A . Robinson , who assisted in the opening goal minutes earlier , came up with a brilliant strike of his own as he pounced on a rebound and buried a shot from 20 yards out .
The USA put its final touch on the night in the 89th minute as
Antonee Robinson played the ball to Reyna near the top of the box and he combined cleverly with forward Folarin Balogun for a one-two pass that freed Reyna of his mark for a well-placed finish from close range .
RICARDO PEPI
USA – RICARDO PEPI ( Antonee Robinson ), at the 82nd minute : Robinson dribbled up the left wing and sent in a cross that was deflected by a defender and landed at the feet of Gio Reyna . The attacker played it back out to the left for Robinson to send a driven cross into the box which Pepi met with a clever outside of the foot flick to beat the goalkeeper at the near post . USA 1 x 0 TRI .
RICARDO PEPI ' s 82nd minute game-winner was his 10th career goal and seventh of 2023 . The goal was the 20-year-old striker ’ s seventh of 2023 and fifth off the bench , extending his record of most goals by a USMNT substitute in a calendar year .
Pepi ( 21 caps ; 20 years , 311 days ) becomes the second fastest USMNT player to reach double-digit goals both by caps and age . He trails Jesús Ferreira ( 20 caps ) and Christian Pulisic ( 20 years , 189 days ).
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