Ricardo Pepi scored seconds after coming into the game as the United States beat El Salvador 1-0 at Orlando's Exploria Stadium on Monday night to win Group D and clinch its spot in the CONCACAF Nations League finals in June.

The U.S., fresh off a 7-1 shellacking of Grenada, started a strong XI, with interim manager Anthony Hudson knowing all his team needed was a win or draw to advance to the Nations League semis.

The hosts never found an opener in a scoreless first half despite applying plenty of pressure and had a pair of injury scares with both goalkeeper Matt Turner and midfielder Yunus Musah requiring attention from the team's medical staff.