AUSTIN — As the U.S. World Cup campaign entered its second stage Thursday, the start of a no-excuses, three-match window, Coach Gregg Berhalter looked to his young charges to elevate their game after a scratchy start last month.
By the end of the 2-0 victory over Jamaica, a sellout crowd at Q2 Stadium was chanting the name of an 18-year-old striker (Ricardo Pepi), who had scored both goals on the strength of wonderfully crafted sequences involving an 18-year-old midfielder (Yunus Musah), a 20-year-old right back (Sergiño Dest) and a 20-year-old winger (Brenden Aaronson).
Even without injured star forwards Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna, the Americans were artful and dominant in the second half.