Weston McKennie entered Friday's Concacaf Nations League debut against Cuba having scored three goals for the US national team, and he doubled that output in his latest outing, which finished a 7-0 rout for the home side.
McKennie scored the fastest hat trick from kickoff in modern USMNT history, notching goals in the first, fifth and 13th minutes at Audi Field, to put the Americans in the driver's seat in the Nations League clash from the start. His first goal came 30 seconds in, officially the second fastest in USMNT history, only bested by Clint Dempsey's strike against Ghana in the 2014 World Cup, which came in the 29th second.
The Schalke midfielder finished with three goals and an assist in the win, in just 45 minutes of work before being substituted at the break for Paul Arriola.
McKennie's hat trick is the first for the US men's national team since Dempsey notched one in World Cup qualifying against Honduras in March 25, 2017 at Avaya Stadium. That performance gave Dempsey a share of the all-time goals lead with Landon Donovan for the USMNT.
The fastest hat trick for the modern USMNT came in 2002, when Brian McBride had a 12-minute trio of goals against El Salvador in the Gold Cup at the Rose Bowl.
McKennie's effort wasn't the only sparkling individual statistical performance for the US, as Jordan Morris scored a goal and added three assists, also in 45 minutes. He's only the third player to notch three assists in a game for the USMNT.
