El Salvador 1-1 USMNT: Jordan Morris levels late on a muddy night of Nations League action

The United States Men's National Team salvaged a late draw on the road to El Salvador on Tuesday, maintaining their unbeaten start in the Concacaf Nations League.

Gregg Berhalter's side came into the match in San Salvador fresh from a 5-0 thrashing of Grenada in their opening match. But the conditions on Tuesday were much tougher, with the Estadio Cuscatlan pitch more akin to a mud bath than a field containing Premier League, Serie A, and Bundesliga stars.

El Salvador took the lead on 35 minutes in seemingly fortunate circumstances as full-back Alexander Larin caught goalkeeper Ethan Horvath out at his near post with what in all likelihood was a wayward cross. Still, Horvath didn't cover himself in glory with his positioning or reactions and the question regarding who should be the USMNT's number one at the World Cup became a little more complex.

Things got worse for the visitors in the 70th minute when FC Dallas winger Paul Arriola - who scored in the recent win over Grenada - was shown a straight red card for a studs-up tackle on Larin. But the playing field was leveled just nine minutes later as Ronald Rodriguez picked up a red card of his own.

The USMNT took full advantage of that lifeline in the 91st minute when, with the result seemingly beyond reach, Jordan Morris headed home an excellent Luca de la Torre cross at the far post less than 10 minutes after coming onto the field as a substitute.

The result leaves El Salvador top of League A Group D with five points from three games, but the United States are just a point behind having played a game fewer. Nations League play will resume in March 2023.

Man of the Match: Yunus Musah

Tuesday's match was one very short on flair and quality - hardly surprising given the on-field conditions - but Yunus Musah adjusted better to the conditions than most.

Time and again the Valencia midfielder dragged the United States forward and unbalanced El Salvador with his direct, fast running. On another night, Musah could have had a goal or two, forcing a couple of good saves from goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez, including firing an impressive free kick on target.

It was Musah who drew the foul that saw Rodriguez sent off - one of three fouls suffered on the night - while the 19-year-old won over 87% of his duels on the night.

Down in El Salvador, Musah gave supporters a strong reminder of why he should be an automatic starter for the USMNT. A remarkable feat in its own right for a player who will only turn 20 during the World Cup.

What they said: Gregg Berhalter & Jordan Morris

Tuesday night was a landmark for Jordan Morris, who netted his 11th goal for his country and his first since November 2019, prior to suffering a cruciate ligament rupture.

It was a goal that certainly did no harm to the Seattle Sounders forward's World Cup chances - and one that proved hugely popular among his teammates.

"As Jordan came into the locker room after the game, this is a guy that hasn't played much throughout this camp, and he walks into the locker room and the whole group went nuts, started cheering his name," Berhalter said.

"And that's what type of group this is. It's a selfless team. It's a group that's concerned about their teammates, concerned about their teammates performing well, and supporting their teammates at all moments. And it was a really nice moment to see, to see him being embraced by the group."

On the relief of scoring, Morris said: "You know, I'm a goalscorer, and so that's obviously what you live on. For me it had been a long time with the national team since my last goal, going through the Covid year in 2020, where we didn’t play any games. Then coming back and being out all of ‘21 with my injury, it had been since 2019 since I scored a goal with the national team. So it’s definitely been a little bit of a wait there, a little too long for my liking of course."

As for the status of his squad with the World Cup looming and only two matches to go before the big kick-off, Berhalter still believes there's a long way to go before the USMNT are 'ready'.

“Coming out the window in a positive way, we still have work to do to get World Cup-ready and we're going to use that the September window to finalize things,” he said “But [I'm] excited to see what this group can do at the World Cup.”