Christian Pulisic's performance was labelled as "wonderful" by United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann after the teenage sensation impressed in World Cup qualifying.
Pulisic made his first start in a qualifier and the 17-year-old did not disappoint as the Americans saw off Trinidad and Tobago 4-0 in Jacksonville, Florida on Tuesday.
The Borussia Dortmund youngster was not overawed by the occasion, hitting the post in the first half, while teeing up two-goal hero Jozy Altidore for his second of the match.
"As we've said over the last few months, one step at a time, but the step was right today," said Klinsmann. "We watch every training session.
"Obviously, Copa America helped us a lot to bring him along and get comfortable in this group of older guys. He was very mature the way he trained every session. He was very focused.
"We thought, it's a good time now. Obviously, the performance was wonderful for us."
Pulisic added: "It took us a bit of time to start to get a feel for the game, which is important. Once we got it, we gave it to them. We did a great job today."
Klinsmann also praised goalscorer Sacha Kljestan, who broke the deadlock shortly before half-time.
"I think the way Sacha now plays at the New York Red Bulls, this is a role that he really is good at and he brought himself back into this roster," said the German.
"So [I need to] make sure we give him the opportunity to play the number 10 role. Automatically, that means Michael [Bradley] is more of the number six in this game. Whether we need him as a number eight or a number 10, it's not a problem."
