The narrative couldn’t have written itself better. Sporting Kansas City forward Dom Dwyer, a recently minted US citizen, on his first US national team cap and start, opened the scoring in Connecticut just 19 minutes into the team’s friendly outing vs. Ghana. Oh, yeah, it’s July 4 weekend, too. U-S-A! U-S-A!
And as the first half proceeded like the heart-warming script of a predictable sports movie, a few other names deserved shout-outs. New England Revolution utilityman Kelyn Rowe, also celebrating his first US cap, proved nimble and smart in a supporting role, before eventually being subbed off for LA Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes at the 61st minute.
One more super-triumphant moment for the United States: FC Dallas central midfielder Kellyn Acosta and his nasty free kick at the 52nd minute, notching the Yanks’ second goal. The pure class of that finish more than made up for the fact that Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan finally bagged one at the 60th minute.
With the U.S. coming away 2-1 from the match, Bruce Arena will surely have some stellar performances to consider before deciding on his upcoming lineup in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, when the U.S. take on Panama on July 8 in Nashville (4:30 pm ET | FOX, Univision, UDN).
- Armchair Analyst: What you should take from US win over Ghana
- Welcome aboard! Dwyer impresses in US debut
- US Player Ratings: Midfield shines in tune-up victory
Goals
Three Things
- POWER COUPLE: Let's just all cheer for the U.S. Soccer power couple of Dwyer and Sydney Leroux, who now have become the first pair of national team players to both score for the country while married. Sweet. (Nothing is really stopping you from buying a US Cassius Dwyer jersey, by the way. We can dream for the future.)
- HOOPS, THERE IT IS: Everyone likes the new striped jerseys, right? Social media is pretty positive about the team's Gold Cup look. You can get your own right now...
- ARENA'S MORE THAN ALRIGHT: The second Arena era for the U.S. is providing plenty of reasons to smile. Tonight's win makes the team 4-0-4 under the former LA Galaxy gaffer, who's contracted to take the Red, White & Blue through the remainder of the 2018 World Cup cycle.
