All week long, the big question was painfully obvious: How would the U.S. men's national team cope with Tim Weah and Christian Pulisic? The answer, for long stretches of Thursday's match against Trinidad & Tobago, was not well. It was a game that felt like it was calling out for those two injured wingers, with the U.S. struggling to do much of anything right through 80 minutes.
Fortunately, though, games go 90 minutes, and the U.S. needed every last one of those 90 minutes to put this two-legged tie beyond doubt. With a 3-0 win over T&T in the first leg of their Nations League quarterfinal, the U.S. took one big step back towards defending their crown. They also took a big step towards the Copa America, with just a second leg in T&T standing between them and a major tournament next summer.
This program knows well enough not to overlook what a trip to T&T means, but you have to feel like the job is close to completion. GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Q2 Stadium below...