SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Thursday night’s World Cup qualifying opener represented the next stage of a young U.S. men’s national team’s journey and development, and what a stirring stage it was. The Estadio Cuscatlán was loud, pulsing, and at times it felt like it might come to life thanks to the jumping, jam-packed crowd that definitely was way larger than it was supposed to be.
Featuring nine starters making their World Cup qualifying debuts, the U.S. got its Concacaf away-game baptism here in the Salvadoran capital and inside the Cuscatlán crucible. It was everything a road qualifier is supposed to be—tight, tense, cacophonous and challenging.