USA punish Paraguay, notch up 5-0 victory

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 16

On a day when his father and Ballon d'Or winner George Weah was locked in an intense battle with his rivals for the presidential elections in Liberia, Timothy Weah was busy ripping apart the Paraguayan defence in the most brutal manner in the other corner of the world. As a result of his lightning-fast triple strikes, the USA today sailed into the quarterfinals of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, scripting a dominating 5-0 win over a hapless Paraguay in the Round of 16 clash here today.

The US were in no mood to take the foot off the pedal as they breached the Paraguayan citadel as many as five times. While Weah found the net in the 19th, 53rd and 77th minutes, midfielder Andrew Carleton and captain Josh Sargent compounded the Paraguayan misery by scoring in the 63rd and 74th minutes, respectively. Such was the US dominance that they enjoyed 57 percent of ball possession and had six shots on the target, out of which they converted five. 

It was Weah who opened the scoring for USA, his left-footed shot from the centre of the box sinking into the left corner of the net.  The Paraguayans managed to keep the US forwards from scoring another goal in the first half, but their defence came apart in the second half, with the US pumping in as many as four goals.

The US forwards broke the back of the Paraguayan defence with their precise passing and excellent runs on both the flanks. Weah, who has signed a three-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), doubled the lead with a superb right-footer from outside the box to the top right corner of the net after receiving an assist from Indiana Vassilev. Carleton, too, made his presence felt after finding the centre of the box. And then Sargent put the match beyond Paraguay's reach after slotting home the ball from the right side of the box. Weah completed the tally by netting his third goal in the 77th minute.