• The most obvious way was the fact the U.S. found itself on the verge of qualifying for the final CONCACAF round. A win against Cuba in Washington, D.C. Oct. 11 will clinch a spot for the Americans.
• The goal production certainly did not hurt the USA's confidence, especially since they had scored exactly three goals in their past three qualifiers.
• And if the U.S. doesn't have to put out an 'A' team against Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala in its final two Group 1 matches, it will make a lot of people happy, and not just coach Bob Bradley.
MLS coaches gearing up for the playoffs will be happy because they won't miss key players for the regular-season stretch run for the Oct. 15 game in Trinidad & Tobago. And with the Nov. 19 match in Guatemala only four days prior to MLS Cup 2008 on Nov. 23, Bradley would not have to call in any key players from the MLS teams or anyone from a European club.
And it will make some younger players an opportunity to play and impress Bradley.
So, it was a win-win-win proposition for the U.S.
"It builds depth on our team and a lot of guys are not flying back and forth across the pond to Trinidad and Denver at the end of the year," said forward Landon Donovan, whose ninth-minute free kick set up Michael Bradley's nifty three-yard volley for the USA's first goal. "It makes it nice. But we've got to get through Cuba first."
If the U.S. continues what they did at Toyota Park, that should not be a problem.
"Goals are not important," he said. "The most important thing was to win. Whether we score one or score five, a win's a win. You get the same points. The most important thing is that we put ourselves in a good position that we are almost guaranteed a spot in the next round."
But it certainly helped the U.S.'s confidence and sent a message to the rest of CONCACAF.
"It's good to have a decisive win," Dempsey added. "We're looking to make the next round and qualify for the World Cup."
That ultimate goal, of course, is South Africa in 2010.
Wednesday's win was the U.S.'s best performance of its qualifying venture. The first game, an 8-0 trouncing of Barbados, doesn't count because the game was so lopsided.
Then came 1-0 wins against Barbados, Guatemala and Cuba. The U.S. did not have to be motivated in the second Barbados match because it was a total goals series. The Guatemala affair was one of survival since it was in the cauldron in Guatemala City. The Cuba 1-0 result was a bit disappointing because the Cuban team is an amateur side, playing in amateur leagues on the Caribbean island.
"I still think that people don't always understand how difficult it is sometimes playing in these other countries, the fields and whatnot," said forward Brian Ching, who connected for the third goal, a three-yard header, in the 57th minute. "We came out tonight with the mission of putting this game away early and scoring a lot of goals and I think with the field being the way it is and with being in the States."
Added Donovan: "We were excellent tonight. The first half was one of the most dominating performances I ever have been a part of."
Trinidad began the game throwing as many as eight players behind the ball. The U.S. was patient and quickly broke down the defense with goals in the ninth and 18th minutes.
"We knew we had to come out with a high tempo and keep the ball moving fast," defender Steve Cherundolo said. "That was the key -- put pressure on them. It was just a matter of time."
Trinidad came out and tried to make a game of it in the second half. The Caribbean side threw just about everything it could at the U.S., forcing four corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes. But the team was never a factor after Ching's goal.
"It killed the game off," Donovan said.
One key to the U.S.'s success was midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, whose speed confounded the T&T defense and whose well-timed pass set up Dempsey's goal in the 18th minute. Beasley recently came back from a hamstring injury he hurt in July.
"DaMarcus had a very good game for us," Bradley said. "He's always been a two-way player, and his energy really adds to the rest of the group. He's a player who has the ability to find good spots on the field. He's capable of coming inside, and he can drift wide and get by people. He also works hard when the ball turns over. He's the whole package and coming back from injury he hasn't played that many 90-minute games since coming back from injury so I think it's good to see him contribute in the way he has."
It's easy to forget how well the U.S. has played on the other side of the ball as the Red, White and Blue recorded a record sixth consecutive shutout, going back to the scoreless tie with Argentina at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. June 8.
"I hadn't seen a defensive effort like that in a long time," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "We just put them on our terms. We had two and three and four guys around the ball. We really dictated the play. I don't think that they were able to do what they wanted to do. Our midfield did great in terms of defending. We know what they did, attacking-wise. Defensively these guys are really playing well."
But despite a 3-0 win, Cherundolo was far from satisfied.
"We're still not maximizing our potential," he said. "We need to keep plugging away."
The USA are not maximizing their potential and they're 3-0 and leading their group. Not exactly what the rest of CONCACAF wants to hear.
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