The goals began flowing a half-minute into the Concacaf Nations League match Friday at Audi Field, and by the time Weston McKennie had completed a 13-minute hat trick, the U.S. men’s national soccer team was enjoying a refreshing — and soon to be ridiculous — waltz against Cuba.
The 7-0 victory over FIFA’s 178th-ranked team will not fully restore the public’s faith and enthusiasm in a program that spectacularly failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Nor will it elevate the Americans’ global status.
But with the rigors of qualifying for the next World Cup starting next autumn, the United States was in punishing form from the start, showed no mercy and led by six at halftime in its debut in the new regional tournament.