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SANDY — Wearing the U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team kit, a trio of Real Salt Lake players took the pitch inside Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday afternoon for the USMNT and saw the full 90 minutes in its 4-1 win over Cuba.
“There are not many days where you have the opportunity to play in front of your home crowd in an international match,” said USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. “For these guys, it’s special, and it’s in front of their home fans and families. With an opportunity today with Cuba, you take that opportunity and you give them a game.”
The trio was happy to be back in the state of Utah and have that opportunity.
“Great to get the three points and a special feeling to get it here in front of our own home crowd,” said USMNT goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
The match was Rimando’s second ever CONCACAF Gold Cup match and seventh overall wearing the U.S. crest.
The Salt Lake club’s Tony Beltran, USMNT defender, saw just his second-ever cap for the United States and first-ever Gold Cup cap.
“Not many players get the chance to play for their country and the next step, not many players get to do that in their home stadium,” said Beltran. “A very, very special day for me, and I want to take full opportunity of this chance.”
Klinsmann was pleased with the performance by Beltran in the game, being just his second with the USMNT.
“Tony got his opportunity,” said Klinsmann. “He did well. It took him time to get into the game; the second half was much easier than the first half.”
RSL captain and USMNT midfielder Kyle Beckerman tallied an assist for the stars and stripes off a second-half goal by forward Chris Wondolowski in the 65th minute. As a favorite of Klinsmann over the past year, the cap was Beckerman’s 26th overall and eight Gold Cup match for the U.S. side.
“(Kyle’s) been great,” said Rimando. “He’s been proving that he can play at this level for a long time. It doesn’t surprise me he gets an assist or that he’s playing the way that he is. I’m happy for him, I’m happy for Tony to get a start tonight and obviously really happy that we got the W.”
The three RSL players will remain with the USMNT as it continues Gold Cup action next Tuesday, July 16, against Costa Rica. Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
