As players left the field at PayPal Stadium, they walked over a small bridge that take them just over the exiting fans. Moments after smashing Trinidad and Tobago, 5-0 in their 2025 Gold Cup opener Sunday night, the U.S. men's national team's players found themselves on that walkway, serenaded by those below. Cheers broke out as the players were applauded off the field after a job well done.
How things can change in just a matter of days.
In Nashville, Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT were booed off the pitch in the midst of a 4-0 humbling at the hands of Switzerland last Tuesday night. And then came Sunday, a day in which, over the course of 90 minutes, this U.S. team reclaimed some of the goodwill that has been missing of late.
A win against the No. 100-ranked team in the world won't fix everything, not by any stretch. But turning those boos into cheers will have made this day a success.
It's a start. The Gold Cup run is long - or at least the USMNT hope this run will be long. T&T will wind up being one of the weakest teams in the schedule and it showed in their performance. The U.S. cruised from whistle to whistle, taking a 3-0 first-half lead and never really taking their foot off the brakes as they ran up the score.
That won't impress everyone, and critics still find plenty of reason to complain. Not this game, though. On Sunday, the U.S. took a step forward after taking so many steps back and - and the cheers came with it.
"We kind of set a standard now, so we know we have to continue to keep winning these types of games," said defender Chris Richards. "We know every game isn't going to be easy. Every game is going to be as tough, but if we can continue to win, I think that's how you shut people up: winning."
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