Daryl Dike made his second U.S. men’s national team start a memorable one, and in the process boosted his prospects of earning more of them.
The Orlando City striker scored a pair of goals, and forced an own-goal in Thursday’s 6-1 romp over Martinique, a performance that earned Dike SBI USMNT Man of the Match honors.
From the onset it was all Dike, with the 21 year-old striker showing his aerial prowess in the 14th minute and heading home a Matthew Hoppe cross to give the USMNT a 1-0 lead.
It was a new system on display for the USMNT, with Dike playing as the lead striker in a 3-5-2 formation, but the Orlando City striker was a consistent threat during his 67 minutes on the field, connecting well with strike partner Hoppe early on, and showing his ability to dribble past people later in the match.
In the 23rd minute, Dike headed a loose ball in the penalty area back on frame and forced an own goal to make it 2-0.
Dike’s best play of the night came when he scored the fourth goal of the night, muscling his way past the Martinique defense and chipping the goalkeeper to put the match way out of reach.
Dike beat out James Sands, Matthew Hoppe and Gianluca Busio for Man of the Match honors.
What did you think of Dike’s performance? Who was your pick for Man of the Match? Who was your second choice if you think Dike was the clear choice?
Share your thoughts below.
The things with Dike I have been noticing is his explosion on contact with the ball either with his head or feet. Dude obviously is a bull in China shop for defenders with how physical he is running at them.
Something yet to be seen is can he play in tight spaces with quick combos. There has been a few times were Dike is late to recognize or is not aware of what players and the ball is doing around him?
Good goals for Dike. Showed good composure on both. Far from finished product but excited to see how far he can go.
Dike looks good. Soft touch for a big man. Showed great composure on both goals. Excited for him but it was only Martinique.
Good game but it was Martinique. He showed a soft touch for a big man and both finished were class w composure.
his last goal was pretty awesome, showed off some skill and technique to finish that one
I liked how he didn’t watch the ball go in the goal. He knew it was going in.
Liked what I saw but it was Martinique. Hope he starts against Canada.
well deserved