da imperador bet： It took every last minute but the U.S. is one step closer to the Copa America after three late goals at the Q2 Stadium

da betcris： All week long, the big question was painfully obvious: How would the U.S. men's national team cope with Tim Weah and Christian Pulisic? The answer, for long stretches of Thursday's match against Trinidad & Tobago, was not well. It was a game that felt like it was calling out for those two injured wingers, with the U.S. struggling to do much of anything right through 80 minutes.

Fortunately, though, games go 90 minutes, and the U.S. needed every last one of those 90 minutes to put this two-legged tie beyond doubt. With a 3-0 win over T&T in the first leg of their Nations League quarterfinal, the U.S. took one big step back towards defending their crown. They also took a big step towards the Copa America, with just a second leg in T&T standing between them and a major tournament next summer.

This program knows well enough not to overlook what a trip to T&T means, but you have to feel like the job is close to completion. GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Q2 Stadium below…

GettyWINNER: Gio Reyna

Are you watching, Edin Terzic?

After several weeks being left out of the Borussia Dortmund squad, Reyna proved that he hasn't missed a beat, building on a brace from Ghana during the last international window. He was held to just one goal in this one, but what a goal it was: the third and final finish that put the icing on the cake of a big U.S. win.

Overall, it was a solid performance from Reyna, who, for most of the night, looked like he was the most likely to create something leading to a U.S. goal. Antonee Robinson and Ricardo Pepi beat him to it, but it was always coming, wasn't it?

Reyna continues to shine and has put any lingering doubts about his issues with Berhalter behind him. He's more vital than ever to this team, and it'll be interesting to see how the U.S. continues to use him as he matures as a player in the coming months and years.

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Kevin Paredes & Malik Tillman

Paredes and Tillman entered this match in similar places. Both are young, rising stars starting to figure things out on the club level. The two are right on the edge of the USMNT roster, players that could very well play themselves into or out of key roles at the Copa America next summer.

Thursday won't help either of their cases, though. Thrown into the fire, both struggled.

We'll start with Paredes, who, like Tillman, was tossed into the starting XI with both Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah out. The Wolfsburg man has started to develop with the German side, but this was his biggest test yet with the USMNT. However, he struggled to really cope with T&T's physicality and was rightfully taken off early in the second half.

Tillman, too, was removed early after he had started on the other wing. To his credit, it's not his best position, as he seems to do his best work as a No. 10. On this evidence, it doesn't seem like he'll be able to add much to the wing position, which could limit his opportunities going forward with Reyna thriving centrally.

Overall, it wasn't the performance that either guy needed as they look to step up to international level.

GettyWINNER: Ricardo Pepi

Gregg Berhalter said it best during his postgame availability: despite everything that's gone against him, Pepi continues to do all he can do.

Pepi now has five goals as a substitute this year – a record with the USMNT. Regularly overlooked and overshadowed, Pepi continues to do the most important thing: score goals.

Is it enough for him to overtake Balogun? It'll be tough. The U.S. is still learning how to play with the Monaco man, and it'll take plenty of minutes to get the rest of the team on the same page as Balogun up top.

However, the two-striker look the U.S. went with late is an interesting one, especially with the tea dealing with injuries. Could the U.S. use that in different situations going forward?

Pepi, in general, continues to rise to the challenge and, when given the opportunity, it's safe to bet he'll take it.

GettyLOSER: Trinidad & Tobago

For 80 minutes or so, the Soca Warriors gave themselves a chance. The game had gone against them and, to be fair, they had no real right to be in that game.

However, despite all of that good work, they couldn't hold on. And then, to make matters worse, they didn't just let the game slip away, but also the tie.

Had T&T escaped Austin with even a 1-0 defeat, they'd have gone home with some hope. They'd stunned the U.S. before, famously in fact, and, on Monday, they'd have backed themselves to have something of a chance.

Now though? Down three goals? It's hard to see a way forward for them.

The red card should have doomed them, but it didn't. Several big chances could have ended it, but goalkeeper Denzil Smith made several massive steps. It all did eventually fall apart, though, as their hopes of winning this tie went out the window the moment Reyna's goal hit the back of the net.