Gyasi Zardes goal puts USMNT up 2-0 on Ecuador

With both teams playing with 10 men, the U.S. managed to get an insurance goal in their Copa America quarterfinal match.

Clint Dempsey gave the USMNT an important lead in its meeting with Ecuador on Thursday in Seattle. But it felt like a 1-0 lead wasn’t necessarily going to be enough to see out a trip to the next round.

Fortunately, it didn’t stay a one-goal lead. Once again, Bobby Wood was involved in the build-up. And while Dempsey did most of the work, it was one of his teammates who got credit for the goal.

Undoubtedly, Gyasi Zardes will tell people his fifth career international goal was one of the easiest he will ever score.

The problem now is that Wood, so instrumental in both of the first two USMNT goals, won’t be available in the semi-final match since he got his second yellow card of the tournament. The U.S. will also be without Jermaine Jones, who received a straight red card (apparently for going to the face of an opponent during a scrum) and Alejandro Bedoya, who also got a second yellow for his Copa America.

Still, if the USMNT can hold on — and as this post was written, that was still very much in doubt — they’ll figure something out. As long as Dempsey is around and players like Zardes are hustling, there’s still hope.

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