No doubt about this one. The U.S. U17 Men’s National Team rolled over Guatemala Thursday and on to its third multi-goal victory in as many matches at the CONCACAF Championships.
Starting his first match on the right, Joshua Perez scored a hat trick to lead the U.S. U17 team to a breezy 4-1 victory over flooded Guatemala in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Left winger Pierre da Silva added a fourth less than five minutes into the second half, and Guatemala pulled one back in the 65th after the U.S. took its foot off the pedal.
The win solidified the U.S.’s increasingly strong position atop the group. With nine points from three matches and a plus-10 goal differential, it’ll take a collapse of monumental proportion for the U.S. to not win the group and clinch an automatic qualifying spot at the Chile World Cup later this year. Games against Honduras on Sunday and a group finale against Jamaica remain.
While the win was crucial for the team’s World Cup hopes, the U.S. held its collective breath when creative hub Christian Pulisic appeared to hurt his knee just before halftime. He was knocked over in the box to earn a penalty that led to Perez’s third, but a Guatemalan player rolled over Pulisic’s leg on the way to the ground. Pulisic walked off on his own power, but he didn’t return to the game in the second half.
Here are three major talking points from Thursday’s monster victory that leaves the U.S. just a win against Honduras away from qualifying for the World Cup.
