Who is Jesús Ferreira, the USMNT player jokingly nicknamed 'The Pirate of the Caribbean'?

On Sunday, Jesús Ferreira made U.S. men's national soccer team history by recording a hat trick in consecutive games, providing the first three goals in a 6-0 demolition of Trinidad and Tobago in the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Just four days prior, Ferreira scored three goals in the USMNT's 6-0 win over St. Kitts and Nevis. With his second goal vs. St. Kitts and Nevis, Ferreira became the fastest USMNT player to score 10 goals, doing so in 20 appearances; the previous best was by Clint Mathis, who hit double-digit goals in 23 caps.

With his back-to-back hat tricks, Ferreira has joined Landon Donovan as the only American male players with three hat tricks. Ferreira's first hat trick came against Grenada on June 10, 2022, when he scored four goals in a 5-0 win in Concacaf Nations League play.

Twelve of Ferreira’s 14 USMNT goals have been against Caribbean nations, and that success against those teams has earned the forward a new nickname, "The Pirate of the Caribbean." The whimsical nickname has caught on fast, as Fox Sports analyst (and former USMNT player) Stu Holden mentioned it on air during Sunday's win.

What did Jesús Ferreira say?

Unfazed by the social media chatter surrounding the level of competition against whom he's scored many of his goals, Ferreira only seems concerned with putting the ball in the back of the net.

"I try to stay off social media as much as I can," Ferreira said after Sunday's win. "For me, as a forward, it's always my job to score goals, to come in and try to score goals against whoever's in front of us. Yeah, I've scored a lot of goals against Caribbean teams, but, like I said, my job is to score goals and I'm gonna do that no matter who's in front of us."

What did the USMNT coach say?

Ferreira's history-making goal-scoring run might just be the start for a young player who has plenty of time to develop into a world-class striker.

"When I see his movement and his confidence in the penalty box, you can tell that the game has slowed down for him," U.S. interim coach B.J. Callaghan said following Sunday's win. "All of the work that he’s doing, leading our line defensively, dropping down, helping buildup play, for me he’s having a really complete tournament."

Who is Jesús Ferreira?

Ferreira is the 22-year-old son of former Colombian midfielder David Ferreira, who played in five seasons for FC Dallas and was the 2010 MLS MVP. David Ferreira also made 39 appearances for Colombia, scoring three goals. On Dec. 24, 2000, Jesús Ferreira was born in Santa Marta, Colombia, and moved to Dallas at the age of 10 when his father signed with FC Dallas.

Signed to a homegrown player contract by FC Dallas on Nov. 17, 2016, Jesús Ferreira made his professional debut in 2017 and two years later signed a four-year contract with FC Dallas. In January 2022, Ferreira was signed to a designated player contract through 2025.

Jesús Ferreira has appeared in 132 games, 114 starts, for FC Dallas. He has tallied 46 career goals, with 28 of those scores coming in the 2022-23 MLS seasons. His 18 goals in 2022 tied him for fourth in the league (with the Los Angeles Galaxy's Javier "Chicharito" Hernández), five off the 23 scored by league leader (and MVP) Hany Mukhtar of Nashville SC.

On Feb. 1, 2020, Jesús Ferreira made his USMNT debut in a friendly against Costa Rica. On Jan. 31, 2021, he scored his first and second USMNT goals in a 7-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in a friendly.

Jesús Ferreira at the 2022 World Cup

Ferreira made coach Gregg Berhalter's 26-player roster for last year's World Cup in Qatar. However, he did not play in the USMNT's three group stage games, as Josh Sargent and Haji Wright manned the team's No. 9 (striker) position. Ferreira did start in the USMNT's Round of 16 game against the Netherlands, but was subbed off at the half as the team was eliminated in a 3-1 defeat.

It was a disappointing World Cup for Ferreira, who hopes to be a part of the USMNT roster for the 2026 World Cup.

"Hopefully I get the opportunity to be at another World Cup," Ferreira told 90min. "I think it would be just like the first one: a dream come true to be able to represent the United States, especially at home."