The Daily Dirt, September 3: Young Americans

It wasn’t a pretty game, but it didn’t need to be. The U.S. got the job done with a 6-0 win in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Friday afternoon. They are not officially in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying just yet, but they will be if they avoid a major slip-up in Tuesday’s game against Trinidad and Tobago in Jacksonville. A win or draw puts them through, even a loss will if Guatemala cannot overturn a 12 goal disadvantage in goal differential.

A big win for Guatemala over St. Vincent is always possible, so the U.S. has to show up Tuesday and make sure they secure a draw at minimum. With Trinidad and Tobago already clinched for the next round, that might be an easier task.

Sacha Kljestan and Christian Pulisic both looked excellent in second half substitute appearances. Any worries about if Pulisic can handle the international level should be gone by now. If he looks comfortable in his time in the Bundesliga, he will be fine here as well. We can only hope that rewarding Kljestan’s strong form for the Red Bulls means players will be rewarded for the club performances. Hey, we can dream, right?

Tim Howard will start on Tuesday as he is rotating games with Brad Guzan at this point. Beyond that, we will see how many changes are made to the lineup. Michael Bradley returns from suspension and it would be reasonable to expect him to reclaim his spot.

Domestic

U.S. wins 6-0 over St. Vincent and the Grenadines, nearly secures its passage to the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying (Stars and Stripes FC)

Matt Doyle takes a look at the U.S. win (MLS)

Today’s storylines for the MLS slate of games (MLS)

Local group coming together to try to bring MLS to St. Louis (STL Today)

Regarding the Ottawa Fury’s status in the NASL, or a jump to the USL:

Hope Solo blames her contract termination and suspension on the equal pay fight (Fox Soccer)

International

Kenwyne Jones’ Trinidad and Tobago clinches their spot in the Hex with a 2-2 draw against Guatemala, the ageless Carlos Ruiz scored twice for Guatemala:

Canada’s loss in Honduras likely ends their World Cup dreams (Globe and Mail)

Juan Neira scored the goal of the day in the Liga Ascenso in Mexico:

Louis van Gaal missed out on Belgium job due to boring interview? (Telegraph)

Local

Georgia loses first game of Auburn Soccer Classic to USC (Red & Black)

Georgia Southern’s men’s team wins 2-1 over Stetson (GSEagles)