Haiti 0-6 United States: Pulisic nets brace in quarter-final first leg rout

The United States took a huge step towards the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals after thrashing Haiti 6-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

Christian Pulisic netted a brace for the USA, with Auston Trusty, Weston McKennie, Julian Hall and Folarin Balogun also getting on the scoresheet in their first match since head coach Mauricio Pochettino announced his upcoming move to Manchester United.

USA were ahead after just 10 minutes at Nu Stadium in Miami, where Haiti were the designated home side, with defender Trusty turning in Sebastian Berhalter's set-piece delivery from close range.

Hall had the ball in the back of the net after the half-hour mark but was denied by the offside flag, though he eventually scored early in the second half with a first-time finish from Antonee Robinson's cross.

Pulisic then scored twice in as many minutes after the hour, first scoring from the penalty spot after being felled by Carlens Arcus before beating Alexandre Pierre with a low strike from outside the box.

Weston McKennie added a fifth shortly afterwards, heading in Malik Tillman's delivery, while Haiti's Lenny Joseph saw a goal ruled out for offside at the other end.

Second-half substitute Balogun also saw a goal disallowed, but the Monaco striker rounded off the scoring in the closing stages.

USA show progress under Pochettino

Any fears of USA being distracted by Pochettino's recent announcement were dispelled, with his side instead showing how far they have come under his guidance with a clinical second-half performance in Miami.

They accumulated 3.8 expected goals (xG) from 16 shots, six of which were big chances, while restricting Haiti to just 0.76 xG from their four shots in the contest.

Pulisic scored with both of his shots and led his side with eight touches in the opposition box, more than the entire Haiti team combined (five), while Berhalter won possession seven times, a joint-team high, won four of his six duels and completed both of his dribbles.

USA's next head coach will also have plenty of attacking threats to choose from, with both Hall and Balogun scoring as they battle for a starting position in the team.

With Canada only edging past Guatemala 3-2 in their first leg, USA have produced a statement victory, and they will hope to do the same in Tuesday's second leg in Cincinnati, which will be Pochettino's final match in charge.