US men's national team interim head coach B.J. Callaghan hailed his side after their 6-0 triumph over Trinidad and Tobago, calling out Cade Cowell and Brandon Vazquez for their offensive contributions.
The Stars and Stripes had no problem dealing with the Soca Warriors as Callaghan chose a similar lineup to the one that soundly defeated St. Kitts and Nevis, 6-0. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, forward Cristian Roldan, and defender Miles Robinson, who made his first appearance at this year's Gold Cup, were back in the side.
Forwards Cade Cowell and Brandon Vazquez then came off the bench to add to the American team's lead after starters Gianluca Busio and Jesus Ferreira opened up the score.
The FC Dallas put on another show, scoring his second consecutive hat-trick for his country and third overall to put him on level terms with the legendary Landon Donovan.
"All forwards are going to be judged by the goals that they score, first and foremost. When I see his movement and his confidence in the penalty box, you can tell that the game has slowed down for him. And he's just placing balls into the back of the net, and that's a positive sign," Callaghan said of Ferreira.
"It lets us all know that he's focused and committed to being a goalscorer for us."
Cowell received special praise after scoring his first national team goal, capitalizing on a mistake from the Trinidad and Tobago defense to find the back of the net.
"What you saw tonight is what he's strong at," Callaghan noted.
"He was running at defenders relentlessly, he was able to go inside, he was able to go outside, he was able to create combination play and then he gets rewarded with the goal. So that's a performance that we expect from Cade, I think he expects from himself, and it's going to be one that we want to build on."
At the back, the US defense celebrated for keeping two straight shutouts as center-back Jalen Neal and full-back DeJuan Jones standing out.
"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, and he really rose to the occasion. Not only that on the defensive side, but then helped us in the attack, helped us create wide overloads, was able to get some crosses in the box," Callaghan affirmed
"For me it's not about, like, trust. His performances have been consistent; he's putting together good performances. And as we continue to evaluate our opponents, we're going to look to put the best players out there. But Jalen has certainly shown that this stage, for him, is not too big."
The Stars and Stripes will face whoever comes in second place in Group D in the quart finals, which could be either Canada, Guadeloupe, or Guatemala.
This article was originally published on 90min as B.J. Callaghan hails USMNT after topping Group A in Gold Cup .
