U.S. to face Cuba in a must-win Gold Cup quarterfinal
Midfielder Michael Bradley (4), volleying a pass against Panama on Monday, and his American teammates have no margin for error in a Gold Cup quarterfinal against Cuba on Saturday.
In his four years as coach of the U.S. national soccer team, Juergen Klinsmann has preached the same message: CONCACAF is a lot tougher than it looks.
His players appear committed to proving their boss right. Two years after running the table and outscoring opponents 20-4 in the 2013 Gold Cup, the U.S. will limp into the quarterfinals of this summer’s event on Saturday after a group-play draw with Panama and a win over Haiti, in which the Americans were beaten everywhere but on the scoreboard.
There is no room for similar errors or false confidence now that the region’s most tournament has reached the elimination stage.
“Now it’s about knockout games. It’s do or die,” said Klinsmann, whose team meets Cuba (2 p.m., Channel 11) at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. “There’s no calculation involved anymore, there’s no fixing afterward.
“You have to win games now.”
In Saturday’s other quarterfinal match, Haiti will meet Jamaica, and on Sunday, Trinidad and Tobago plays Panama, and Mexico faces Costa Rica in East Rutherford, N.J.
Klinsmann’s urgency stems largely from the fact that this edition of the biennial Gold Cup has added importance. Previously, the winner of the first Gold Cup in every World Cup cycle represented CONCACAF in the Confederations Cup, an important dress rehearsal held the year before each World Cup.
Now, a country must win successive Gold Cups to qualify for the World Cup warmup, something the U.S., as the defending champion, can accomplish this month. Anything short of a championship, though, and the U.S. must face the Gold Cup winner in a fall playoff to determine the Confederations Cup qualifier.
“Putting the pieces together is crucial,” said Klinsmann, whose team is riding an eight-match unbeaten streak that includes friendly wins over Mexico, Germany and the Netherlands.
“The Gold Cup really is about getting the job done and winning it and qualifying us for the Confederations Cup in Russia in 2017.”
Klinsmann made three changes to his 23-man roster after group play, calling up Veracruz midfielder Joe Corona and Galaxy forward Alan Gordon and luring defender DaMarcus Beasley out of retirement from the national team to add experience to a young back line. (Beasley’s 121 international appearances are just 24 fewer than the other seven U.S. defenders have combined.)
They replace Greg Garza, Alfredo Morales and the oft-injured Jozy Altidore, who has been dealing with a hamstring problem for nearly a month.
“Jozy never really got into this tournament and never really picked up the rhythm,” Klinsmann said. “He’s just simply not in shape right now to help us.”
In Cuba, the U.S. will be facing a team that lost its first two group games by a combined 8-0 and saw four players defect. However, a 1-0 victory over Guatemala earlier this week was enough to see Cuba through to the final eight, where it will meet a team it hasn’t beaten since 1947.
On the other side of the bracket, Mexico Coach Miguel Herrera could be fighting to keep his job after his team followed a tournament-opening rout of Cuba with draws against Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago. In the final game of the group stage against Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico had a 2-0 lead with 35 minutes to play, then had to fight back to earn a tie.
Against Costa Rica, a World Cup quarterfinalist last summer, Mexico could be without recent Galaxy signee Giovani dos Santos, who left the Trinidad and Tobago game at halftime because of a left leg injury.
Twitter: @kbaxter11
