USA stuns in Gold Cup opener

The U.S. men's national soccer team got its Gold Cup off to an unbeatable start with a sweeping (5-0) victory over Trinidad and Tobago that places it as group D leader. Costa Rica also topped their group with a hard-fought 4-3 win over Suriname.

The star of Pochettino's squad was midfielder Malik Tillman, who contributed two goals to the Stars and Stripes.

Saudi Arabia's narrow win over Haiti

In the same group, Saudi Arabia won 1-0 against Haiti in a match in which both teams showed little effectiveness in scoring. The goal for Saudi Arabia was scored by attacker Saleh Al Shehri, who took a right-footed penalty kick that went low inside the left post of Haiti's goal.

With that result, the Saudi team accumulated its first three points, the same as the USA, which is in first place in Group D on better goal difference.

In the group stage, the U.S. will play its next match on Thursday, June 19, against Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago will play their next match against Haiti on the same day, both under pressure for a win and points that would allow them to dream of advancing to the next stage of the competition.

A hard-fought victory that is worth a lead

In Group A, Costa Rica struggled to pull out a 4-3 victory over a gritty Suriname team and was able to respond to the challenge in the match held at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.

This victory puts the Costa Ricans at the top of Group A with three points, the same as Mexico, which is part of the group, but which they surpass on goal difference. Suriname remains in third place in Group A, only above the Dominican Republic. But none of them have points.

Costa Rica will face theDominican Republic on June 18, and on the same day Suriname will take on Mexico.