NASHVILLE, April 2 (UPI) -- Jozy Altidore produced his first international hat trick Wednesday, carrying the United States to a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Trinidad and Tobago.
Altidore, 19, was assisted by Landon Donovan on all three goals and helped the Americans seize control of the six-nation North American qualifying group.
The United States cause was further assisted by a surprising 3-1 victory by Honduras over Mexico later in the evening. Costa Rica defeated El Salvador in the other qualifier 1-0.
The Americans have seven points in three games while Costa Rica has six and Honduras four. Mexico has just three points and is stuck in fourth place -- a point in front of El Salvador and Trinidad and Tobago.
After 10 games of round-robin qualifying, the top three countries in the group will earn a spot at next year's World Cup in South Africa. The fourth-place team will face the fifth-place team from South American qualifying to determine another World Cup berth.
Altidore scored in the 17th minute, then added second-half goals in the 71st and 89th minutes. That allowed the United States to bounce back from a lackluster 2-2 tie in El Salvador last week.
Tim Howard recorded the shutout.
The Americans will not play again until June 3, when they travel to Costa Rica. Qualifying comes to an end on Oct. 10.
