AUSTIN — If he had his druthers, Gregg Berhalter would have chosen far stiffer competition Friday for the last home appearance by his U.S. men’s national soccer team before the World Cup later this year.
But because the Concacaf Nations League is a mandatory competition and two group-stage matches had to be played this international window, the Americans had no choice but to play Grenada, the world’s 170th-ranked team.
Though there was little to gain, the match did provide yet another audition for the wide-open starting striker’s job at the World Cup. The level of competition cannot be ignored, but 21-year-old Jesús Ferreira scored four goals as the Americans overcame a sluggish start and routed the Spice Boys, 5-0, before an announced 20,500 at Q2 Stadium.