United States 1, Peru 1 | 2018 International Friendly Match Recap

Josh Sargent scored his second international goal shortly after halftime to help the US national team to a 1-1 draw against Peru on Tuesday night at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

Edison Flores leveled late for Peru off an assist from Portland Timbers midfielder Andy Polo on a night when La Blanquirroja edged possession and chances.

Still, it was a much improved and more organized effort from the Americans than in their 4-2 loss to Colombia five days earlier.

The opener for the #USMNT from Josh Sargent! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/dGqml9kjDT

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) October 17, 2018

Sargent rewarded that discipline with a goal four minutes after halftime, with the 18-year-old slotting home the service from Colorado Rapids midfielder Kellyn Acosta, a finish helped inside the left post by a deflection.

That goal stood until Flores popped up at the back post for a simple finish of Polo’s service, finding space in part because of a run by Seattle Sounders forward Raul Ruidiaz to the near post.

Goals

• 49′ – USA – Josh Sargent | Watch
• 86′ – PER – Edison Flores | Watch

Three Things

• THE BIG PICTURE: After seeing Los Cafeteros run rampant in Tampa last Thursday, a starting back four that included just six caps combined offered a far more organized defensive performance this time around, and something to build on. While Peru outshot the US 14-3, only three of those efforts were on target. The Americans’ only goal conceded owed largely to a late lapse from relative veteran DeAndre Yedlin.
• MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Sargent certainly has the look of someone who will be a difference-maker for the Americans for a long time to come, and he joined some elite company in the process of scoring his second international goal.
  

  Josh Sargent is the third-youngest #USMNT player with two international goals, in the modern era. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

  Christian Pulisic (17y-349d)
  Juan Agudelo (18-123)
  Josh Sargent (18-238)

  — Paul Carr (@PaulCarr) October 17, 2018

• MAN OF THE MATCH: Cameron Carter-Vickers was the anchor of an extremely inexperienced back line that looked up to the challenge for the vast majority of the 90 minutes. Particularly impressive was the 20-year-old’s ability to immediately adapt to a new center back partner in Aaron Long of the New York Red Bulls, who was making his US debut.

Up Next

• USA: Thursday, Nov. 15 at England (3 pm ET | ESPN2, UniMas, UDN)
• PER: Tuesday, Nov. 20 vs. Costa Rica (Time TBD)