The USA entered the penultimate round of World Cup qualifiers with hopes of getting nine out of nine points no matter the weather conditions or number of players on the roster that haven’t played in three months. They took the first necessary steps in that quest against El Salvador on a 32 degree night in Columbus. While the Americans were dominant and El Salvador couldn’t do much more than hope to slow the home side down, a second half goal by Antonee Robinson would be the difference in a 1-0 victory.
The lineup somehow did not include Brooks Lennon as the USA set up in its now familiar 4-3-3 with Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and Sergino Dest playing together for the first time ever.