FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The United States claimed the group B title by dispatching El Salvador, 4-0, on Tuesday night at Gillette Stadium.
DaMarcus Beasley opened the scoring for the United States in the 34th minute. Landon Donovan added the second on the stroke of halftime from the penalty spot after Alfredo Pacheco handled Benny Feilhaber's cross. Substitute forward Taylor Twellman added a third in the 73rd minute from a Brian Ching ball to make it three, while Beasley grabbed his second in the 90th minute to conclude the scoring.
Bob Bradley's side asserted its dominance early in the first half, with Donovan missing a header from six yards after good work from Jonathan Spector in the 7th minute.
Juan Campos carved a chance out for the Salvadorans in the 12th minute on the counterattack, but his effort was well wide of Tim Howard's goal.
Clint Dempsey rang an effort off the post in the 20th minute after intricate buildup from the United States was rewarded by a failed clearance right onto the foot of the Fulham player. Dempsey took the chance well with the outside of his right boot, but could only steer it onto the post.
Beasley turned his team's territorial advantage into concrete superiority on 34 minutes. El Salvador failed to clear a corner kick, with the scraps falling to Beasley 17 yards from goal. Beasley took his effort off the bounce and sidefooted it past Miguel Montes in the Salvadoran net to give the United States the lead.
Donovan doubled the lead nine minutes later from twelve yards at the second time of asking. Pacheco stuck his hand out and swatted down Feilhaber's attempted cross. Donovan's first penalty was stopped by Montes, but assistant referee Alejandro Azofeifa ruled that the Salvadoran keeper had left his line too early. Donovan then stepped up again and slotted his penalty straight down the middle.
El Salvador technical director Carlos De Los Cobos was ejected at halftime by referee Benito Archundia after pursing the referee after the first half whistle to protest the penalty kick call.
In search of the goals needed to tie up the contest and ensure passage to the quarterfinals, El Salvador pushed forward in the second half.
The first opportunity for the Salvadoran occurred in the 57th minute. American centerback Oguchi Onyewu gave away a foul at the top of the box, but Pacheco sent the resulting free-kick over the bar from 25 yards.
As the United States soaked up pressure in the early stages of the second stanza, it gradually reasserted its dominance over the contest and created the chances necessary to find its third.
American substitute Brian Ching flashed a 25-yard effort over the crossbar in the 68th minute after finding himself with space outside the Salvadoran box.
Ching set up Twellman for the killer third goal in the 73rd minute. Ching brought the ball down just outside the box and played the ball out to the right side to an open Twellman. The striker, playing in his home stadium, took a touch and finished past Montes to end the Salvadoran resurgence.
Dempsey nearly had a goal to cap his fine performance in the 81st minute after launching a swerving 25-yard effort that was kept out of the Salvadoran goal by a fine diving save by Montes.
Dempsey was integral to the fourth American goal in the 90th minute. After Brian Ching ran into space, he fed the ball into Dempsey at the top of the box. Dempsey then slid a pass over to the run of Beasley, who made no mistake to add his second of the contest.
Miller Lite Man of the Match: DaMarcus Beasley
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
