BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Clint Dempsey scored his fourth goal in four games, Michael Bradley and Brian Ching padded the margin, and the United States beat Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in World Cup qualifying Wednesday night.
The victory was the fifth straight by the Americans, and virtually assures them of making next year's six-team regional finals. The United States is atop Group One in the semifinals of the North and Central American and the Caribbean region with nine points, five ahead of T&T and Guatemala.
"It's ideal, right?" Landon Donovan said. "We were excellent tonight. The first half was one of the most dominating performances I've ever been a part of. We were good all over the field."
The victory was hardly a surprise. The Americans are 25-1-7 in home qualifiers since May 1985. Their only defeat was a 3-2 loss to Honduras in September 2001, and they have outscored opponents 21-0 on U.S. soil since 2004. They're also 9-0-2 in World Cup qualifying against T&T.
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The Soca Warriors, forced to play without veteran midfielder Dwight Yorke after he was recalled to his club team in England, had a second-half goal waved off on an offside call. It was the sixth straight shutout for the United States.
Although the Americans came in with a four-game winning streak, their offense has been patchy and they eked out 1-0 victories in each of the prior three games — all on the road.
No such problems against T&T; the Americans got two goals in the first 18 minutes.
"That wasn't important. The most important thing was to win," Dempsey insisted. "Whether we scored one goal or five, a win is a win."
DaMarcus Beasley earned the Americans a free kick in the ninth minute when he was tripped up as he sprinted down the left sideline. Donovan lofted the kick over the scrum in front of the goal and Marvin Phillip had no chance as Bradley flicked the ball into the goal with the right side of his foot.
Donovan pumped his fist when he saw the ball go in, and the rest of the Americans mobbed Beasley. It was Bradley's third international goal, and second this year.
Nine minutes later, the Americans doubled their lead. Dempsey had the ball on the right side and fed Beasley on a give-and-go. There were four defenders in front of him, but they were lined up flat, and Beasley threaded the ball on a perfect pass to Dempsey, who put it in the far side of the net.
"Time after time, we found little seams; we could turn plays and be dangerous almost every time we had the ball," Donovan said.
Corner kicks
● Veteran striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco played his last match for Mexico on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifier against Canada.
Blanco played the last seven minutes of the match, which Mexico won 2-1, after which he was carried by his teammates as he waved goodbye to the 25,000 fans.
"It was my own decision, I've always said that you have to retire on time, and I'm leaving with the love from the fans," Blanco said at the end of the match.
U.S. 3
T & T 0
