Gold standard for US

FOXBOROUGH -- First-round Gold Cup matches produce predictable results for the US national team, especially in Norfolk County. The US team defeated El Salvador, 4-0, last night, improving its record to 21-0-1 in first-round games and to 15-1-4 at Foxboro and Gillette stadiums since 1991.

DaMarcus Beasley scored twice and Landon Donovan and Taylor Twellman once for the United States, which won Group B with a 3-0 record (7-0 goal differential) and will play at 4 p.m. Saturday in the quarterfinals at Gillette Stadium. The semifinals and finals are scheduled for Chicago June 21 and 24.

"We knew pretty much what El Salvador was going to do," Beasley said. "So we were not going to sit back. It was going to be hard to break them down; it's hard to break down teams every game. Teams know what the USA brings -- speed and players who can play football."

The US team had chances early against an El Salvador team that included five players 20 or younger and was missing former D.C. United midfielder Eliseo Quintanilla (suspended).

Donovan had an open header (seventh minute) and fired wide (11th). Clint Dempsey hit the left post (20th) and the stanchion (24th). The US scored after Beasley advanced on the left and was taken down by Leonel Guevara, setting up a free kick that was deflected for a corner. El Salvador struggled to clear Donovan's corner, Beasley stabbing a half-volley through a crowd and into the right side of the net in the 34th minute.

The United States finished the half strong. Beasley missed two chances (43d and 44th), then Benny Feilhaber advanced on the right side, his centering pass handled by Alfredo Pacheco. Referee Armando Archundia immediately awarded the penalty.

Miguel Montes stopped Donovan's first penalty attempt, Donovan finishing the rebound, but Archundia ruled the kick had to be retaken because Montes had moved off the line. Donovan slammed the second chance low and into the center of the goal, celebrating the success by blasting the ball into the net again.

Archundia whistled the end of the half immediately following the kickoff, then was confronted by several players and El Salvador coach Carlos de los Cobos, who was red-carded.

"The penalty was a bad call," de los Cobos said. "The defender cut the distance between himself and the ball and the ball hit his hand, but it was not intentional, it was something that happens a lot in football. I thought he made the call too quickly and should have thought about it."

The US team started in a 4-3-3 setup with Dempsey in the center of attack and Beasley and Donovan outside. The Revolution's Michael Parkhurst made his second successive start in central defense, next to Oguchi Onyewu.

"The idea was to tighten things up in the center of midfield and take advantage of the mobility of [Donovan, Beasley, and Dempsey], in terms of freedom to be moving around," US coach Bob Bradley said. "We are more comfortable in a 4-4-2 and we switched to it like we did against China (a 4-1 win June 2)."

Twellman replaced Donovan after halftime and finished a Brian Ching feed in the 73d minute. Beasley scored again (89th), running through the penalty area to finish a Dempsey feed.

"They had all 11 guys behind the ball in the first half," Twellman said. "It was important to get that first goal.

"When I went in, I was flying high. I was excited to get in there, a little too excited, maybe, because I gave away some balls. Now it's win or you're out, and that changes it a little bit. The games are more important, but this is why we play the game. Hopefully, we'll get to Chicago."

In the late game, Guatemala (1-1-1) advanced to the quarterfinals by virtue of its 1-1 tie with Trinidad & Tobago. Guatemala, which got a goal from Carlos Ruiz in the 84th minute, will play Canada at Gillette Saturday at 1 p.m. Trinidad & Tobago (0-2-1), which had no chance of advancing, tied the game in the 87th minute on a goal by Errol McFarlane.