Courtesy of US Soccer
TAMPA, Fla. - Eight former USL League Two players started for the U.S. Men's National Team on Sunday night in the team's 3-0 win against Panama. The match took place at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona.
A dream debut for Chicago Fire midfielder Djordje Mihailovic saw the 20-year-old score his first goal for the Americans, while Walker Zimmerman and Christian Ramirez added the second and third goals, respectively, for manager Gregg Berhalter's side.
Mihailovic -- a former Chicago Fire PDL player -- became the 50th player in USMNT history to score on his debut when he finished off of a Corey Baird cross five minutes before halftime.
Debut and goal! @DjoMihailovic scores the first goal of the Gregg Berhalter era!
— U.S. Soccer MNT (@ussoccer_mnt) January 28, 2019
leads 1-0 in the 40'! pic.twitter.com/Xo29Lw3QMD
Meanwhile, Nick Lima, who previously played for Burlingame Dragons FC in PDL, set up the game's second goal with a curling cross into the path of Zimmerman -- who headed home for a 2-0 lead in the 80th minute. Both Lima and Baird joined Mihailovic in making their national team debuts on Sunday.
Ramirez completed the USMNT victory with his first career national team goal following a quality ball into the penalty area by Jonathan Lewis.
Additionally, New York Red Bulls defender Aaron Long served as captain on the night for the Stars and Stripes, with the former FC Tucson player playing the full 90 minutes.
The USMNT will continue its January camp before taking on CONCACAF nation Costa Rica on Feb. 2 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California.
Name |
Position |
Minutes |
USL League Two Team |
---|---|---|---|
Corey Baird |
M | 75 | Burlingame Dragons |
Jeremy Ebobisse |
F | 66 | D.C. United U23 |
Sean Johnson |
GK | 16 | Atlanta Blackhawks |
Nick Lima |
D | 90 | Burlingame Dragons |
Aaron Long |
D | 90 | FC Tucson |
Daniel Lovitz |
D | 90 | Carolina Dynamo |
Djordje Mihailovic |
M | 62 | Chicago Fire PDL |
Christian Ramirez |
F | 6 | Orange County Blue Star |
Gyasi Zardes |
F | 84 | Ventura County Fusion |