The first goal materialized in a flash, straight down the middle of the field. In the 12th minute, Cameron floated a ball high toward the penalty box, where Zardes was sprinting below, sandwiched between two defenders. Zardes, on the run, could do little more than let the ball glance off his body, but that proved enough. The ball took two bounces backward into the path of Dempsey, who lashed it with his right foot to send it swerving into the lower right corner.

The goal was Dempsey’s 14th in World Cup qualifying, which put him ahead of Landon Donovan for most in team history.

“It was good to test our character as a team,” Dempsey said. “You never want to be in this situation. But at the same time, we were able to deal with it and get the must-win. We learned a lot about ourselves tonight.”

Cameron was responsible for the finishing touch on the second goal in the 35th minute. As Bradley whipped a dangerously angled free kick across the box, from left to right, Cameron tiptoed in front of the goal, unbothered by any real defense, and drilled the ball with his head just beneath the crossbar.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Zusi chased down a ball that had fortuitously dribbled across the goal off Zardes’s backside and fired in the third goal, capping a forceful passing sequence down the right side.

In the 89th minute, Jozy Altidore deposited the team’s fourth tally by capitalizing on the dribbling work of Dempsey, who had drawn goalkeeper Paulo Motta out of position before unselfishly providing the assist.

The flurry of goals and the carefree win were a salve for the national team’s leadership.

Public criticism has been heaped on Klinsmann throughout his five years at the helm of the organization. There always seem to be calls for his dismissal. When he first signed on as coach, he beseeched the American public for the intense scrutiny found in other soccer-loving countries, saying the team would improve in the crucible of hand-wringing analysis.