USMNT player ratings: Robinson, McKennie shine in 3-0 win - ESPN

The U.S. men's national team kicked off their two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against Trinidad and Tobago with a 3-0 win in Austin, Texas.

Despite having a wealth of possession in their home leg on Thursday, the USMNT at first struggled with breaking down the visitors that fielded a defensive-minded 4-5-1 formation. Even with a one-man advantage after a red card was shown to Trinidad and Tobago's Noah Powder in the first half, the USMNT didn't take the lead until substitute Ricardo Pepi found the back of the net in the 82nd minute.

Reinvigorated by breaking the deadlock, the USMNT then ramped up their pressure in the final stages. After doubling their lead in the 86th minute with a well-placed shot from Antonee Robinson, the U.S. then cemented their 3-0 result after a goal from Gio Reyna in the 89th minute.

Both sides will now meet for the second leg in Trinidad and Tobago on Nov. 20. The winners, determined by aggregate goals and with away-goals as a possible tiebreaker, will qualify for the next round of the Concacaf Nations League and for the 2024 Copa America. The losing quarterfinalists will have another opportunity to qualify for the Copa America through a single-elimination play-in match next March.

Gregg Berhalter, 5 — Was it an experimental 4-2-2-2 formation? More of an unrestrained 4-2-3-1? In either situation, one can't help but wonder if the USMNT players were asking themselves the same question in what was an unnecessarily complicated strategy to start the game. The USMNT looked far too ponderous and at times narrow in their approach, with no goals to show for the first 81 minutes.

Berhalter eventually got things right in the second half, but the improvements remained far too close to