Jesús Ferreira’s record-tying hat trick paces US Men’s National Team to Charlotte win
The United States Men’s National Team didn’t just need to win. It needed to win big to have a chance to earn first place in Group A of the CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifying.
Who better to deliver than the hot-footed Jesús Ferreira, who not only helped the USMNT achieve its goal, but made a little history along the way.
Ferreira scored a hat trick — his second in a row and third for the program — to pace the United States to a 6-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago at Charlotte’s Bank of American Stadium on Sunday. The win tied the U.S. with Jamaica in the Group A final standings, the USMNT finished with a plus-12 goal differential, while Jamaica is at plus-8.
Charlotte FC may have been off this weekend, but there was still plenty of high level soccer at Bank of America Stadium, which welcomed more than 40,000 soccer fans from across the country to watch the the pair of Gold Cup matches in the Queen City for the first time.
Haiti and Honduras played their Group B finale in the nightcap, with Honduras earning a 2-1 victory. Both teams missed qualifying for the quarterfinal round, though, after Qatar edged Mexico to slide into second place past Honduras on goal differential. Mexico remained in first and won Group B.
Ferreira’s first-half hat trick tied Landon Donovan’s program-leading three career hat tricks, and his second in a row marked the first time in history a men’s team player has achieved that feat.
Meanwhile, defender DeJuan Jones’ contributions on both ends of the field played a large part in the victory — and in Ferreira’s hat trick.
“I thought DeJuan really stepped up tonight, especially in the first half. He had a really difficult matchup with (Levi) García, and that’s not an easy winger-forward to go up against. He really rose to the occasion,” interim head coach B.J. Callaghan said.
Aside from thwarting any opportunities for Trinidad and Tobago on his side of the field, the 26-year-old consistently made runs up the left side to provide an extra offensive option up top. One of these runs took him streaking into the middle of the box in the 14th minute, where an errant cross into the middle landed at his feet.
Instead of turning and shooting through multiple defenders, Jones created space for himself by taking the ball back outside the box. From there, he picked out Ferreira near the penalty spot and fired a pinpoint cross to his right foot.
Ferreira didn’t miss, putting the U.S. ahead, 1-0.
“Not only on the defensive side, but then you know, (Jones) helped us in the attack, helped us create wide overloads, was able to get some crosses in the box,” Callaghan said. “I was really pleased with his performance and his ability to continue it all for 90 minutes.”
Ferreira added his second strike a bit later in the first half, and then Jones again stuck his foot into goal-scoring opportunity. This time, another overlapping run took Jones toward the left side of the box and he cradled the ball before passing it off to Djordje Mihailovic.
Mihailovic attempted to take the ball further into the box but was fouled for a penalty kick in stoppage time. Without Jones’ attacking effort, Ferreira wouldn’t have had a chance at his second hat trick, which he cemented from the penalty spot.
A quieter second half from the team in general minimized the chances Jones had to sneak into the final third. Nonetheless, he continued to lock down García to help keeper Matt Turner retain a clean sheet.
Cade Cowell and North Carolinian Gianluca Busio tacked on two more goals after the break — their first international goals — and Brandon Vazquez finished it out with one of his own. Julian Gressel and Cowell also collected an assist each.
Next up for the USMNT is the quarterfinal round, in which it will play the second-place team from Group D in Cincinnati on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Three teams — Canada, Guadeloupe and Guatemala — are still in the running for Group D’s top two spots, which will be determined Tuesday evening.
