The United States of America (US) booked its place in the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Gold Cup after a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Austin on Thursday.
After a 5-0 win over a struggling Trinidad and Tobago in his opener, guest team Saudi Arabia presented a much more difficult note to crack, but a 63rd minute of Chris Richards was sufficient for the three points.
After a lifeless first half with the Saudis who were deep and the US without penetration, the game picked up after the interval.
Crystal Palace Defender Richards went in the neighborhood with a header from a Jack McMlynn cross that was well saved by Nawaf Al Aqidi.
The breakthrough came when Sebastian Berhalter hit a free kick from Deep, who, in a busy box, met Richards half a volley on the slide that flashed home.
There were collisions towards the end of the game when the US replaced Tyler Adams and the French coach of the Saudi team Herve Renard rushed to the field to separate the players.
USA coach Mauricio Pochettino also entered the field to separate players in the Melee.
After a point of four straight losses that entered the tournament, Pochettin’s silk showed strength and organization, even if it was missing in the flair.
Richards said the game was just about securing the progress to the next round.
«We needed it tonight. You know, it was a tough match against a tough opponent, props for them. But that is Concacaf for you. Sometimes you have to become physical, sometimes you have to become filthy, I think that is exactly what we did tonight,» he added.
«We had a few problems in the first half, they adapted well, so during the break we said we just had to get the right people on the ball and I think we did that,» he added.
The US is opposed to Haiti on Sunday in the last game of group D that leads it on six points.
The Saudis are second in three points with Haiti and Trinidad on a point each.
