When the United States finally took down Martinique Wednesday night in the Gold Cup, it was a sigh of relief for most USMNT fans as they tried to understand why the team struggled mightily against this insular island region of France. There weren’t many individual performances to write home about, but in coming up with the Man of the Match, there was no question who deserved it for the USMNT.
Jordan Morris, who bagged 2 goals Wednesday night, was the easy choice. In the first half, he was really pressing up top and had a few great scoring chances. Even though he didn’t score in the first half, you could sense he was going to eventually break through. In the 2nd half, he finally did, completing a run in the near post to tap an Eric Lichaj cross past the Martinique keeper. Lichaj did a great job off the pass from Alejandro Bedoya to find some space, and Jordan Morris did a great job beating the keeper and defender to the ball and tapping it home near post.
On the 2nd goal, Morris did great work to set up Gyasi Zardes in the corner. Morris then trailed for a second so that he could run into the space behind the play, as Zardes then found Morris for a great finish in the top right corner and the game winner. It was a great finish for the young striker and a confidence booster. If we can get him confident in finishing plays like he did against Martinique, it gives the USMNT more striking options as we move forward in the Gold Cup.
Jordan Morris was clearly the man Wednesday night against Martinique, and he’s the reason the USMNT have a tiny bit of breathing room in their quest to advance to the quarterfinals in Philadelphia. But, let’s hear what you have to say. Hit the comments and let us know...was Jordan Morris your Man of the Match?