US Held By El Salvador In World Cup Qualifying Opener

San Salvador, Sept 3 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Sep, 2021 ) :The United States kicked off their road to World Cup redemption with a 0-0 draw against El Salvador on Thursday as the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers for Qatar 2022 got under way.

The US, aiming to bounce back from the shock of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, were frustrated for long periods by a battling El Salvador side and failed to make the most of a handful of chances that came their way.

US coach Gregg Berhalter's young side started brightly, shrugging off the intimidating atmosphere at San Salvador's Estadio Cuscatlan to carve out early chances for Borussia Dortmund's Gio Reyna before Brenden Aaronson also saw a deflected effort go over the bar.

Atlanta United defender Miles Robinson saw a golden chance go begging in the ninth minute when he met Reyna's floated free kick in space but was unable to get a diving free header on target.

El Salvador worked their way into the contest with some energetic pressing that knocked the US team out of their stride.

Ronald Gomez came closest to scoring for the Salvadorans in the opening phase of the game, his header from Marvin Monterroza's corner flying over the bar in the 16th minute.

Three minutes later the US surged forward again when Barcelona fullback Sergino Dest cut in from the left and unleashed a low shot which forced El Salvador goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez into a low save.

That however was as good as it got in a mostly disappointing first half, which despite some bright touches from Marseille's Konrad De La Fuente and Norwich's Josh Sargent, saw the US struggle to eke out more clearcut chances.