Six MLSers were in the starting 11 as the US Under-23 national team closed out their final camp before next month’s CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament. They notched a 2-0 win over Qatar at Gigg Lane in Bury, England on Tuesday.
Benji Joya and Gboly Ariyibi scored in the 57th and 87th minutes, respectively, to lead the young Yanks to a win in their second and final friendly match of this camp. The US lost 1-0 to England's U-21s on Thursday.
MLS was well-represented as coach Andi Herzog handed starts to Oscar Sorto (LA Galaxy), Eric Miller (Montreal Impact), Dillon Serna (Colorado Rapids), Matt Polster (Chicago Fire), Luis Gil (Real Salt Lake) and Marc Pelosi (San Jose Earthquakes). Gil wore the captain's armband, and American exports Gedion Zelalem and Ethan Horvath made their U-23 debuts.
After a scoreless first half in which the US controlled much of the play, Joya came off the bench to earn, then convert a penalty kick. Ariyibi sealed the victory later, going with a well-struck volley from the top of the Qatar penalty box.
The result takes the U-23s to a 6-4-0 record in 2015. Focus now turns in earnest to the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship, which will take place at several MLS stadiums from Oct. 1-13.
Herzog's side was drawn into Group A and opens with a pair of games at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. The first comes against Canada on Oct. 1 (9 pm ET) and Cuba on Oct. 3 (5 pm ET). The US will conclude group play at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on Oct. 6 vs. Panama (9:30 pm ET).
Lineups
USA: 12-Ethan Horvath (12-Zack Steffen, 46); 20-Oscar Sorto, 15-Eric Miller, 2-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 7-Dillon Serna; 21-Matt Polster, 10-Luis Gil (capt.) (Gboly Ariyibi, 62),8-Emerson Hyndman, 13-Marc Pelosi (16-Gedion Zelalem, 46); 23-Rubio Rubin (24-Maki Tall, 62), 18-Mario Rodriguez (Jerome Kiesewetter, 62)
Subs Not Used: 5-William Packwood, 11-Alonso Hernandez
Head Coach: Andi Herzog
QAT: 30-Muhannad Naim Hussein, 2-Mussad Mohamed (capt.), 8-Ahmed Fathy Abdoulla, 13-Sultan Hussain Al Brake, 14-Nasser Al-Khalfan, 15-Amed Doozandeh, 17-Mohamed Abdelmotaal, 18-Assim Madibo, 19-Almoes Abdulla, 23-Fahad Abdurlrahaman, 27-Ali Ahmad Ghaderi
Head Coach: Fahad Tahani
