Fanfare: U.S. breezes into final round of World Cup soccer qualifying

• Published October 12, 2008

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WASHINGTON - The United States breezed into the final round of World Cup qualifying with unusual ease.

DaMarcus Beasley scored a pair of first-half goals, Landon Donovan and Brian Ching padded the lead early in the second, and the Americans routed Cuba 6-1 Saturday night.

Jozy Altidore and Oguchi Onyewu added goals for the United States in the final minutes as the game got sloppy and the Cubans tired.

With two semifinal-round matches remaining, the Americans (4-0) already have secured a berth in next year's six-nation finals of the North and Central American and Caribbean region. The top three teams in the finals qualify for the 2010 World Cup, and the No. 4 nation goes to a playoff against the fifth-place team in South America for another berth.

Ranked 21st in the world, the United States is seeking its sixth straight appearance in soccer's showcase event. The Americans, who won 1-0 at Cuba last month, were playing a nation ranked that hasn't been to the World Cup since 1938 and is ranked just 98th. And the advantage only increased when Cuba's Yoel Colome was ejected in the 42nd minute for cutting down Donovan, a foul that got him his second yellow card.

Even Cuba's bench was depleted. The Cubans (0-4) dressed only five substitutes after Pedro Faife and forward Reynier Alcantara went missing Friday, a sign that they may be defecting.

While the United States is far from a world power, the Americans have become the region's dominant team: They are 26-1-7 in home qualifiers since May 1985, the only defeat 3-2 to Honduras here at RFK Stadium in September 2001.

Before a small but boisterous pro-U.S. crowd of 20,293 that sang throughout, Beasley put the United States ahead in the 10th minute with an angled shot from about 12 yards. Sacha Kljestan had picked up a loose ball following a header and passed to the left flank, where Beasley gave the ball one touch before beating goalkeeper Silvio Minoso to the far post.

Beasley doubled the lead in the 30th, making a perfectly timed run to receive a Donovan pass behind the defense and score from 8 yards.