By Daniel Feuerstein | Miami, FL | November 14th, 2026
The U.S. Men’s National Team began their quarterfinal matchup against Caribbean side Haiti at the NU Stadium in Miami, Florida. The match was supposed to be inside a neutral venue in Jamaica due to the political unrest on their home island. The Federation of Haitian Football asked CONCACAF for a change of venue and wanted a true home-field advantage, with tons of Haitian people who reside in the Miami area, and the venue was sold out. But sadly, it did Haiti no good, as they were taken down by the U.S. Men’s National Team in a lopsided win from start to finish. The final score at the home of Inter Miami was six goals to nil, and all six were away goals.
A big free kick leads to a goal
The USMNT wanted to start their big match with a bang, and they got that when they earned a free kick along the far side of the pitch. Setting up to take that free kick was Sebastian Berhalter, and he was aiming to place it inside the Haiti area and hope to get one of his teammates the ball to take a chance. When Berhalter struck the ball, it curled towards the near side, and waiting to put a boot on it was Austin Trusty. Just like in the World Cup match against Turkiye, where he scored the opening goal, he did so here in the first leg of the Quarterfinals of the Nations League, defeating Alexandre Pierre in the 10th minute.
The second half was a big blowout
After only scoring one goal in the opening 45 minutes and looking like the dominant side in possession, the USMNT continued to dominate Haiti when the whistle blew to start the second half, and then the avalanche came as the Americans continued to take advantage of their hosts with a five-goal second half. Watching how the young players and the current members of the World Cup squad can play together shows that this National Team is heading in the right direction to improve their play in the future of the program.
Fabulous run to add to the lead
Haiti tried to make adjustments to their game, and they wanted to give their crowd a big moment to celebrate. But it turned around very quickly, and the avalanche came when Berhalter got the ball and delivered a beautiful pass to Antonee Robinson that split the defenders and made a right turn to the far side. He had Julian Hall running with him, and when Robinson passed the ball across to Hall, he delivered a fantastic shot that went inside the near post and scored his fourth goal in five matches in the 52nd minute.
Pulisic earns a brace
The return of Christian Pulisic, who has been dazzling for AC Milan in Italy’s Serie A, has come back to the USMNT and wants to dazzle here again. In this match, he scored two goals to put his team further ahead of Haiti. His first goal came as his teammates were passing the ball around in tight spaces inside and out of the Haitian area. When the ball was sent towards Pulisic’s direction, he tried to get a handle on it, but he was taken down inside the area. The referee blew his whistle and pointed to the Penalty spot. Pulisic took the spot kick and converted in the 62nd minute.
His second goal was another fabulous moment for the USMNT as the ball was along the near side of the pitch. Alex Freeman picked up the loose ball after a strong defensive effort to stop Haiti’s possession. Freeman quickly made the pass towards Pulisic, and down the far side he went. Just as he was about to get inside the area, Pulisic took a quick and hard shot, aiming to go inside the far post and in, easily beating the keeper and adding a fourth goal for the USMNT, converting in the 63rd minute. Two goals within two minutes.
More pounding from a set piece
Another big chance from a set piece came when the USMNT forced the Haitian defender to put the ball over the end line and earned a corner on the near side. Malik Tillman went to the corner and was preparing to deliver the corner when he sent it to the area, making the run, and delivering his specialty in header goals was Weston McKennie. He got to a space just in front of the net and scored at the near post. The goal was scored in the 68th minute, and the USMNT scored three goals within seven minutes.
Balogun hammers it home
Coming on as a second half substitute and having a goal removed through VAR, Folarin Balogun was annoyed that his goal was wiped out. So he went for a second chance and found the back of the net again, and this time the goal stayed. When the USMNT was bringing the ball down the pitch, Tillman was going down the middle of the park, then made the brilliant pass to Balogun. As he entered the area, Balogun smashed the ball through Alexander Pierre’s legs and destroyed the net in the 82nd minute.
The future looks bright for the National Team
The mix of current players who performed in the 2026 FIFA World Cup this past summer and the young players who did well in the September/October Combined International window looks like a recipe for hope and belief in a bright future for the Men’s National Team. While it’s sad that Mauricio Pochettino will leave after the second leg of the CONCACAF Nations League Quarterfinals, his short tenure has shown he’s enhanced their style of play and done a magical job of getting them to work together as a unit.
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