The Gold Cup kicked off last night, but the tournament starts today for the United States. This tournament is a unique one. Being a year before the World Cup, this tournament is a time to experiment with players who could help the US a year from now. USA look to develop next wave at Gold Cup.
Bruce Arena put together a roster of mainly inexperienced players, with a few experienced players sprinkled in. Here’s a look at the roster:
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 54/0), Bill Hamid (D.C. United; 2/0), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 5/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 39/1), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX; 39/1), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas; 2/0), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 11/0), Matt Miazga (Chelsea/ENG; 2/0), Justin Morrow (Toronto FC/CAN; 1/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna, MEX; 6/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 47/5)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 8/0), Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana/MEX; 5/2), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 60/2), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/MEX; 17/2), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire; 6/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 0/0), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution; 0/0), Chris Pontius (Philadelphia Union; 1/0) replaces injured Kenny Saief (Gent/BEL; 0/0), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy; 31/6)
FORWARDS (3): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution; 23/3), Dom Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City; 0/0), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 15/2)
This squad has a lot of young talented players who look to make contributions on a big stage. USA played a friendly agaisnt Ghana last weekend and some of the new players stepped up.
Recap of USA vs Ghana friendly:
Everyone, meet @Ddwyer14. @Ddwyer14, meet everyone. A dream #USMNT debut for the 26-year-old! ?? pic.twitter.com/41cLap5kGK
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) July 1, 2017
USA played Ghana in a friendly and some new faces to the national team helped get a 2-1 win. Early in the first half Dom Dwyer found a bouncing ball in the box and put it home to give USA the lead. In his first game for the red white and blue Dwyer showed the type of impact striker he can be for the US. Another player who stepped up was Kellyn Acosta. His early second half goal showed his ability to hit a great free kick. He’s been a rising star for a while now, and has shown that he can be trusted as a workhorse in central midfield. US did a good job to combat Ghana’s pacy team, and did enough to win the friendly. These two are just a few players who look to solidify spots for the coming year, by having a good tournament.
You always remember your first.
This'll be a fond one to look back on. Congrats, @KellynAcosta! pic.twitter.com/w4PJyKgRp6
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) July 1, 2017
What to expect from the Gold Cup:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (H) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 1 |  Panama |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 |  Martinique |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possible knockout stage |
| 1 |  Nicaragua |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
USA play in a decent group, that they should make it out of. Their hardest game is today agaisnt Panama; beating them may be tricky, but getting the better of Martinique and Nicaragua should be a breeze. The sights then turn to the quarterfinals, where they would play the 3rd place team of group A/C, should USA win the group. They could also play the winner of group A if they get the runner-up spot.
That would mean that they may play either Canada, Costa Rica or Honduras in the Quarterfinals. They would also likely play one of those teams in the semi finals, due to the way the tournament is set up. The Final would be agaisnt a team that makes it from group the other half of the bracket, which likely would be Mexico, what a show that would be. It’ll be fun to see how this tournament turns out!
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| July 19 – Philadelphia | ||||||||||
| Winners Group A | ||||||||||
| July 22 – Arlington | ||||||||||
| Runners-up Group B | ||||||||||
| Winners Match 19 | ||||||||||
| July 19 – Philadelphia | ||||||||||
| Winners Match 20 | ||||||||||
| Winners Group B | ||||||||||
| July 26 – Santa Clara | ||||||||||
| 3rd Group A / C | ||||||||||
| Winners Match 23 | ||||||||||
| July 20 – Glendale | ||||||||||
| Winners Match 24 | ||||||||||
| Winners Group C | ||||||||||
| July 23 – Pasadena | ||||||||||
| 3rd Group A / B | ||||||||||
| Winners Match 21 | ||||||||||
| July 20 – Glendale | ||||||||||
| Winners Match 22 | ||||||||||
| Runners-up Group C | ||||||||||
| Runners-up Group A | ||||||||||
Players to watch:
Dom Dwyer:
Dom made a huge splash in his USMNT debut last week. The way the USMNT lined up in that match suggest they’ll play some form of a 4-2-3-1. Dom will likely be the starting striker in this role, and he will have opportunities to show his class on the international level. He could be an important part of this squad down the road if he has a great tournament.
Jordan Morris:
Morris has gone cold for the USMNT after his hot start a few years back. He needs to get on the field and score some goals to still be considered for future mens national team games. He could be a super sub in this tournament; lets hope he embraces that role.
Dax McCarthy & Kellyn Acosta:
These two in the central midfield could dominate this tournament. Both of these players don’t have many caps for the USMNT, but their styles of play could solidify the middle of the field in this tournament and the years to come. Kellyn Acosta’s defensive ability, as well as his movement going forward, and his free kick taking ability could make him the break out player of this tournament.
Alejandro Bedoya:
Bedoya has the most caps on this roster with 60. He could be one of the captains of this squad. Ale can also play two different positions for this team in the middle of the midfield, and out on the wing. He most likely will be a player used off the bench to help grind out results, but if he starts he could have the armband.
Matt Hedges:
Hedges is one of the young central defenders on this squad. He’s been a stud for FC Dallas, and now has a chance to solidify himself in the USMNT in the Gold Cup. He is a sure starter for this squad in the Gold Cup. He should be able to show that he belongs with this squad on the international stage.
Graham Zusi:
Zusi is another of those veterans who can add the leadership this club needs. His role as an outside back could help solidify the defense and help this squad transition play. His experience and his newness to a defensive role will be fun to see on this stage.
Brad Guzan:
Guzan is usually the back up keeper for the USMNT. But he will likely be the starter for this tournament. He needs a good showing if he’s to overleap Tim Howard on the US’s keeper depth chart. A few bad games, could see Bill Hamid and/or Sean Johnson get some starts in-goal in this tournament.
It’s time for a fun 20 days of Gold Cup:
12 teams, 25 matches, 20 days, 13 venues.
Get the scoop on #GoldCup2017. https://t.co/J3z5Mr6sEr
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 8, 2017
USMNT play Panama today at 4:30 catch the game on fox!
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Follow me on twitter @TGing21 for Soccer Twitter fun! Coming soon: A look back at week 17, 18 and 19 of MLS play, a look back at the winners and losers of the first half of the MLS season, a recap of Philadelphia Union’s huge tie and a recap of how USMNT did agaisnt Panama. Until then, peace out!
