TAMPA, Fla. — Carlos Bocanegra, Clint Dempsey and Herculez Gomez scored as the United States opened World Cup qualifying with a somewhat shaky 3-1 victory over Antigua and Barbuda on Friday night.
Bocanegra put the Americans ahead in the eighth minute, tapping the ball into the net after goalkeeper Molvin James made a diving stop on Gomez’s header off Landon Donovan’s corner kick. Dempsey’s 26th goal came on a penalty kick in the 44th minute after Marvin McCoy upended Donovan.
Peter Byers scored in the 65th minute for 105th-ranked Antigua, a nation of 86,000 that almost could fit its entire population in Raymond James Stadium. Gomez restored a two-goal lead in the 72th with an effort off a rebound.
It was a costly night for the No. 28 Americans, trying to qualify for their seventh straight World Cup. Third-choice left back Jose Torres was taken off on a stretcher after injuring his left ankle in the 54th minute. Up next for the Americans: Guatemala on Tuesday.
