The U.S. Men’s National Team’s hopes of qualifying for the World Cup quickly turned into a nightmare on Tuesday night.
Two first half goals from Soca Warriors stunned the U.S., who fell 2-1 in T&T on Tuesday night. The loss eliminated the U.S. from World Cup qualifying due to wins from Panama and Honduras.
T&T opened the scoring 17 minutes in through an Omar Gonzalez own goal. On a cross into the box, Gonzalez battled with Soca Warriors forward Shahdon Winchester near the penalty spot. Gonzalez’s touch fired the ball back past Tim Howard, putting the U.S. in an early hole.
That hole got much, much deeper in the 37th minute on a stunner from Alvin Jones. The defender, younger brother of Seattle Sounders star Joevin Jones, unleashed a 35-yard missile up and over Howard, doubling the T&T advantage heading towards halftime.
Just a minute into the second half, the U.S. was back in the match through Christian Pulisic, who fired a shot from outside the box that deflected into the back of the net.
From there, the U.S. generated several chances, while T&T forced a few of their own as well. Tim Howard was called on for a big save on a Winchester shot while Dempsey saw a shot of his own stopped by T&T goalkeeper Adrian Foncette.
The best look came int he 77th from Dempsey as his long-range shot was pushed onto the post by Foncette. With just moments remaining, Foncette made another massive save, stopping a Feilhaber header on the doorstep.
That would be the closest the U.S. came as the team was eliminated from World Cup contention.