The U.S. men's national team moved on in the Gold Cup with a 2-0 win over El Salvador on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, but it was another performance that won't inspire fans. Here are our takeaways.

Defense was garbage

This was one of the worst defensive performances in recent memory by the U.S., and it's shocking the team did not concede. It was sloppy from start to finish; the attempted clearances in the box were awful, and the game did nothing to cement the team's status as a contender. Make those mistakes against Costa Rica, and the U.S. will be in the third-place match and not the final. 

But defenders saved the day

You have to give credit to Omar Gonzalez and Eric Lichaj for taking their chances and scoring, but they were far from quality at the back. Lichaj almost gifted El Salvador a goal in the opening minutes but was bailed out by Tim Howard, and Gonzalez had a couple good moments in defense but more poor ones. Still, their goals gave the team a cushion it needed to secure its ticket to the next round.

Chemistry still missing

Look, with 11 new changes from the match against Nicaragua, there was always going to be chemistry issues. It's been going on all tournament long. You'd have to figure that Arena will stay away from making massive changes the rest of the way, wanting to win the cup. If he keeps making changes, this team probably isn't going to win. Chemistry is the biggest factor going forward, and this team has to find it with continuity. 

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