VIENNA, Nov 17: A young United States roster showed promise, which was enough for now. Nicholas Gioacchini and Sebastian Soto each scored their first two international goals in a 6-2 exhibition rout of Panama on Monday night at Wiener Neustadt, Austria, the second of two matches for the Americans that followed a 10-month pandemic break. Gio Reyna got his first goal three days after his 18th birthday, the third-youngest player to score in modern era.
Sebastian Lletget also got a goal in a physical, open match against a CONCACAF rival that reached the 2018 World Cup over the Americans.
�All we wanted to do from the beginning is get the fans on our side. It was an important thing, important step for us,� US coach Gregg Berhalter said. �People are excited to watch.� Ten months before the delayed start of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, there was much to savour, even though the level was hard to compare to that of a competitive match.
�We�re all hungry to play, all hungry to start, all hungry to prove and to show what we�re made of,� said Gioacchini, a 20-year-old forward in his second season with the senior team at second-tier Caen in France.
Reyna broke through at Borussia Dortmund last season after starring for the 2019 Under-17 team, and both dad Claudio Reyna and mom Danielle Egan played for the US.
Soto was a standout at last year�s Under-20 World Cup and is on second-tier Telstar in the Netherlands. He debuted along with Richy Ledezma, a 20-year-old midfielder who made his first senior appearance for PSV Eindhoven on November 1.
Only Christian Pulisic (17 years, 253 days in 2016), who missed this game with a hamstring injury, and Juan Agudelo (17 years, 359 days in 2010) scored at a younger age. � AP
