The Stars and Stripes ran out 6-0 winners over Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday as the FC Dallas striker scored his second hat-trick of the tournament
There's this weird phenomenon around Jesus Ferreira, one that has bled through from the most toxic sections of social media. If he doesn't score for the United States men's national team, he's deemed not good enough. If he scores too many, the opponents weren't good enough. There's no celebrating, no respect, no joy to any of it.
His new nickname, even, is tongue-in-cheek. 'The Pirate of the Caribbean', they're calling him due to his relentless desire to absolutely light up some of CONCACAF's smaller teams.
Ferreira did so again on Sunday night. He absolutely demolished Trinidad & Tobago, leading the U.S. to a 6-0 Gold Cup win with a second consecutive hat-trick. And, because of that, it's time to give him his flowers.
The detractors will live on, of course, but let them. Ferreira has had them for the better part of a year, and he's responded with goal after goal. For years, the U.S. has been looking for someone, anyone who can score consistently. Ferreira is now proving that he can. They could have used that in the 2018 cycle, that's for sure.
Has it come against the world's elite? No, and that's fine. At the international level, a coach needs different tools at his disposal. Maybe Folarin Balogun's the player to be used in big games, and Ferreira's is the man to be used in the moments where the U.S. is expecting to dominate. For years, the U.S. had no tools at striker; now they have a few, and that's always a good thing.
With his hat-trick performance, Ferreira was an obvious winner for the USMNT on Sunday night, and GOAL is here to break down the rest of the winners and losers from the Gold Cup group-stage finale:
GettyWINNER: Jesus Ferreira
The 'Pirate of the Caribbean' narrative will run wild here again, but here are some facts: Ferreira is the first USMNT player to ever score hat-tricks in consecutive matches. He's the first USMNT player to score a hat-trick in three competitive matches, and only the second to do so in three matches of any kind, joining Landon Donovan. In the second game of this tournament, he became the fastest USMNT player to 10 goals, doing so in 20 appearances. Now, after 21 games, he sits on 14 international goals.
Hate all you want, but Ferreira is doing one hell of a job. It's not that the likes of Donovan, Clint Dempsey or Jozy Altidore didn't play against the likes of St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada or Trinidad & Tobago; they did. It's just that Ferreira dominates against those teams more than any player we've seen. How can that be a bad thing?
The goals themselves, too, were quality. Look at the footwork on his first goal. It was a tough, tough finish, and Ferreira made it look easy.
Ferreira will get some flack until he scores against bigger opponents, although he has already scored against Mexico this year. You can't, though, hold these goals against him. He's doing his job.
Will it be enough to challenge Balogun for that starting spot? Well, that may take a while. But, as Ferreira prepares for his own big move in the coming months, these goals are proof that you can't write him off and, if you do, he'll probably keep scoring anyway.
AdvertisementLOSER: The starting wingers
It's pretty difficult to single out 'losers' from a 6-0 win but, of the players that got onto the field, only the two starting wingers will be frustrated with how they played.
Alejandro Zendejas started once again and, for the third consecutive match, he looked off the pace. After two poor games to start the tournament, this third performance wasn't better. Is it a lack of confidence at this point? Maybe, but Zendejas is much, much better than what we've seen.
Cristian Roldan, also, will be frustrated, having wasted his big chance at his first USMNT goal. To be fair, the Seattle Sounders star probably just isn't a winger at the international level, but that first goal was there for the taking.
Heading into the knockouts, Zendejas will probably keep his spot in the XI, while Roldan's will go to either Cade Cowell or Jordan Morris, depending on the latter's health. In this final group-stage game, neither really made their mark in a game where virtually everyone else did.
Getty ImagesWINNER: Cade Cowell
He may remain a super-sub, simply because his skillset, as it stands, is perfectly set up for the role. Still, we'll need to be seeing more of Cowell.
The Under-20 World Cup star was fantastic against T&T after struggling a bit against St. Kitts & Nevis, showing off exactly what made him so good earlier this summer in Argentina. He was direct, decisive and, most importantly, created chances for both himself and others.
His goal was fantastic, as he danced through and around the entire T&T defense with the composure of a veteran. It's something he's lacked at times but, in moments like this, you can see Cowell getting better before your eyes. He nearly had a second, too, as he hit the post moments after scoring. He did pick up an assist, though, setting up Gianluca Busio for the USMNT's fifth.
It was Cowell's best performance of the tournament yet, one that showed exactly how dynamic he is and can be.
GettyLOSER: Jamaica
Like the USMNT, Jamaica was a big winner on the day, running away 5-0 against St. Kitts and Nevis. The Reggae Boyz, though, couldn't quite to enough to win the group and, because of that, their road to the final is that much harder.
It's easy to argue that Jamaica is the third-best team, at worst, in this tournament, as their attack, led by Michail Antonio, Demarai Gray and Leon Bailey can dominate any game in this region. And they're going to have to, as their road to the final will now go through Mexico.
Jamaica could, first, have to face Canada, although there is much left to play for in Group D. It looks like one of Guadeloupe or Guatemala could be their quarter-final opponents, which might be easier than they would have imagined. After that, though, they'll almost certainly have to play Mexico in San Diego, a big ask even for a Jamaica team this talented.
The Reggae Boyz have made the Gold Cup final before, but have yet to win this competition. Their hope this year was that they could take it one step further thanks to their Premier League stars. If Jamaica do battle their way to a final or perhaps even a trophy, they'll know that they've earned it, as they'll likely have to take down several big teams to get there.