by Brian Turrel
7,500 soccer fans stayed up late Thursday night at Children’s Mercy Park to watch the United States men’s national soccer team defeat Martinique 6-1 in a Gold Cup group stage match. The win sets up a showdown with rival Canada in the final game of the group stage on Sunday.
The match was the first national team start for Sporting Kansas City fan favorite Gianluca Busio. The 19-year-old midfielder posted his first national team assist, and nearly his first goal.
Busio featured prominently in the game, getting cheers from the crowd with each touch. He took all the corner and set piece kicks for the squad and kept a tight rein on the action in the center of the pitch.
Daryl Dike scored first for the U.S. in the 15th minute, heading in the ball off a pass from Matthew Hoppe.
Eight minutes later, Busio came within a few inches of his first international goal but banged his shot off the crossbar. A Martinique defender vainly attempted to flip away the rebound but scored an own goal to put the U.S. ahead by 2.
Miles Robinson’s header put the U.S. ahead 3-0 in the 49th minute, and Dike earned a brace in the 59th minute by chipping the ball over Martinique’s onrushing goalkeeper.
Martinique got a few dangerous chances on counterattacks midway through the second half, and clawed back a goal in the 64th minute on a penalty kick.
Busio earned his assist on the final goal of the match. He got the ball near the right corner of the penalty area and pushed up the side of the box. His cross found Nicholas Gioacchini 6 yards out from the mouth of the goal for an easy finish and a 6-1 win.
The win assures the U.S. team of advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament, but winning the group and a more advantageous seed will be theirs with a win over Canada on Sunday at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The game will kick off at 4 p.m.
