Richards' 2nd-half goal gives US 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia, sends them into CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals
AUSTIN: Defender Chris Richards scored with a flick of the ball off a second-half free kick to lift the United States to a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Thursday night, sending the Americans on to the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Richards tracked the ball as it flew into the box on a curving free kick from Sebastian Berhalter in the 62nd minute to tap the ball with his left foot past Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Nawaf Al Aquidi.
The win and the 1-1 draw between Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti in Group D's other match Thursday in Houston, clinched a knockout berth for the Americans, who improved to 42 wins, one loss and five draws in group play. The U.S. has won its group in 16 of 17 Gold Cups, and closes Group D play on Sunday against Haiti at Arlington, Texas.
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino stuck with the same lineup that produced a 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, the first time he made no changes in consecutive matches since taking over the program last October. But playing against No. 58 Saudi Arabia, the 16th-ranked Americans showed little of the attack firepower they displayed against the No. 100 Soca Warriors.
The match, played before a crowd of 11,727 in a half-full Q2 Stadium, saw few real chances on goal by either team. The Americans had just one shot in the first half. Richards' speed to track back to cover for Alex Freeman's mistake and block a shot kept Saudi Arabia from a 1-0 lead.
Matt Freese got his second consecutive start in goal for the U.S. and third in four matches as he appears to have displaced Matt Turner.
The Gold Cup represents the last competitive test for the Americans ahead of the 2026 World Cup. As co-host with Mexico and Canada, the U.S. is an automatic qualifier for the World Cup.
The Americans limped into the Gold Cup on a four-match losing streak that included a 4-0 rout by Switzerland in their final tune-up. And with many of the top players either sitting out this tournament for personal reasons, injuries or playing in the Club World Cup, Pochettino selected a roster full of relatively untested and unproven players.
Missing the tournament for the U.S. are regulars Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun and Sergiño Dest.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
13 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Ravi Shastri gobsmacked watching India youngster bat, immediately asked 'Who's this bloke?', told selectors 'get him in'
During his time as India's head coach, Ravi Shastri unearthed quite a few gems. Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Prithvi Shaw, T Natarajan, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill to name a few. Even Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah made their Test debuts, as did Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari and Karun Nair. Unfortunately, many of these names faded away. Some slipped down in the pecking order, such as Mayank and Vihari, and even Pandya, whose body gave up on him, denying the rigours of playing all three formats. The ones who did make it, though, were Gill and Bumrah – one became world cricket's greatest pacer, the other India's Test captain. Ravi Shastri recalls being blown away watching the Indian youngster bat.(AFP) A lot of players come every now and then, but very rarely does a young cricketer emerge who captivates the imagination like no one else. Indian cricket has been divided into heroes over the last five decades. From Sunil Gavaskar, the baton passed to Sachin Tendulkar, then Virat Kohli, and, if the hype is to be believed, now Gill. India's newly crowned Test captain, Gill, started off the tour of England on a blazing note, scoring a defiant half-century when India had lost two wickets in two overs before lunch. An elated Shastri, in the commentary box, seemed over the moon watching one of his discoveries on the fast track to success. Also Read: India vs England Live Score, 1st Test Day 1 Watching Gill thrive, Shastri's mind harked back to 2018, when an 18-year-old Gill was sweating it as part of India's Under-19 squad. Gill was the Player of the tournament as India won the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand seven years ago. The former India head coach recalled being blown away watching Gill and urged the BCCI not to waste time in giving him a chance with the senior team. That is when Gill made a lot of heads turn. He just seemed to have time, more than anyone else, as he bludgeoned through the likes of Pakistan and Australia. Also Read: Sai Sudharsan's woeful shot to get out for a duck on debut leaves Gautam Gambhir distraught "He's got the flair, he's got the game. And he's not the kind who changes his approach because it comes naturally to him. There's no doubting his talent. When he came on the scene, everyone knew that here's a player who's going to be around for a decade. There's no doubt about that. I remember seeing him for the first time when I was the coach and he was batting in the nets. He came out to bat and I went to the other coaches and said 'Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Who is this bloke? Get him in." Gill's India debut About a year later, Gill made his India debut during an ODI series in New Zealand, just a couple of months before the 2019 World Cup. Gill then made his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test match against Australia at the MCG and scored an unbeaten 48 as India completed a famous win after their infamous 36 all out in Adelaide. "He had that regal element about him. Just the way he played, and the shots he possessed. Especially against the quicks and the bouncing ball. He started off well during the Under-19 World Cup when Rahul [Dravid] was the coach. And just came through the ranks nicely," added Shastri. It's a challenge in itself when someone comes through, and everyone says this is the future of the country. More so in India, where expectations go through the roof. For all the pieces of the puzzle, Gill seems to have come through nicely. Having made it in the ODIs, he's now grinding it out in Test set-up.
India Gazette
44 minutes ago
- India Gazette
Yograj Singh points out two key aspects that Test captain Shubman Gill needs to follow
Mohali (Punjab) [India], June 20 (ANI): Former cricketer Yograj Singh believes India's newly crowned Test captain Shubman Gill needs to lead from the front and has to take the team forward along with him, just like Kapil Dev did in the 1983 World Cup, in his first assignment against England, which begins on Friday at Headingley. India is poised to witness a new era in the Test format without its batting mainstays, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who retired from the format last month. India has infused young blood and a new skill set to fill the gap left by the departure of the two seasoned pros. Apart from the batting bigwigs, India will miss off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin and the plethora of variations he brought. Ashwin had his last dance in Australia and announced his retirement midway through the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. With Gill given the responsibility of steering the team in India's new era of Test cricket, Yograj outlined the key aspects India's youngest red-ball captain must consider to soar to new heights. According to Yograj, Gill must set his individual scoring target high and take the team with him. He also dropped the series prediction and believes India has the potential to conquer England and stand victorious on the opposition's territory for the first time since 2007. 'A few days ago, I was talking to Yuvraj Singh about Abhishek (Sharma) and Shubman Gill. Yuvraj said he would have to lead from the front. As Shubman Gill goes out to bat, he has to stay at the crease for the maximum time. When a captain leads from the front, and scores run. It is important for Shubman to set a target of 100, 200 or 300. He has to lead from the front. He also has to take everyone forward together, just like Kapil Dev did in the 1983 World Cup. I believe India will win the series,' Yograj told ANI. For Gill, the coin didn't spin in his favour during his first outing as India Test captain during the time of the toss. England captain Ben Stokes won and opted to bowl, a general trend at Headingley. India (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Karun Nair, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)
India Gazette
44 minutes ago
- India Gazette
FIH Hockey Pro League: India's test against Belgium, as both men's and women's teams take on hosts
Antwerp [Belgium], June 20 (ANI): India's outing in the ongoing FIH Hockey Pro League 2024-25 hasn't gone as per the script. Finishing in the top three and vying for a World Cup berth was on their minds when they left India for the European leg. After six straight losses, the Indian men's hockey team will now take on their nemesis in modern hockey, Belgium. Belgium comes into the game tomorrow with a 6-3 win against Spain, after they lost 1-2 in the previous tie to the same team. They are currently placed third in the points table after the Netherlands and Australia, respectively. The Indian men's and women's teams will take on Belgium in a double-header on June 21 and 22. Meanwhile, India has slipped to the 8th position in the current pool standings and with two matches to go, the team will look to end their campaign with a consolation win. Putting things into perspective, vice-skipper Hardik Singh said as quoted from Hockey India, 'The results have not gone as planned, and it's not that we have played badly. I think it hurts more when you play well but not convert that into desired result. This is something we will introspect on, but for now we are focused on the last two matches here. Belgium and India have always shared a healthy rivalry in recent times and both teams bring out the best in each other. Our focus will be on finishing well, ensuring tighter defence and creating chances to score.' Meanwhile, the women's team will take on the hosts in Antwerp, hoping to turn the tide against world no.3 Belgium. Speaking about the upcoming game, women's captain Salima Tete expressed, 'While we had two close matches against Australia and took Argentina to a penalty shootout in our last match, it was our 1-4 loss against Argentina in the previous match that gave us most insight into where we need to strengthen our game further and that is what we worked upon in our last match and take forward for our match against Belgium. Last year, during our previous encounter against the Belgium Team, we didn't give them any easy wins, and we're now taking our learnings from those matches and our recent encounters against Australia and Argentina to go all out against them again and hopefully win.' (ANI)
