There has been little fanfare in the United States regarding the upcoming Gold Cup tournament. While the U.S. will be holding the competition in various cities across the country, the competing CONCACAF teams exude little excitement from the soccer community. Even Mexico, still competing for the Confederations Cup in Russia, will be bringing its “B team” to the Gold Cup as well.
The initial knock-out stage will be broken into three groups. Group A will be comprised of Canada, Costa Rica, French Guiana and Honduras. Group B has Martinique, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States, while Group C is made up of Curacao, El Salvador, Jamaica and Mexico.
While the U.S. and Mexico are currently in the top 25 teams of the FIFA rankings, the next closest competitor is Panama in the 59th spot. In a competition where even a third-place team can advance to the knock-out stage, the United States has fielded a team it feels is capable of ultimately winning the Cup while giving an opportunity to players that might not ordinarily get a look from the national team. The 23-man squad follows:
Goalkeepers (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (New York City FC)
Defenders (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Matt Miazga (Chelsea/ENG), Justin Morrow (Toronto FC/CAN), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna/MEX), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)
Midfielders (9): Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana/MEX), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/MEX), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire), Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas),Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution), Kenny Saief (Gent/BEL), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy)
From a fan standpoint, it’s a weaker roster that lacks national team experience. Names such as Christian Pulisic, Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Michael Bradley, DeAndre Yedlin are missing. Only three starters from the USA-Mexico game earlier in the month are on this squad (Guzan, Gonzalez and Acosta). In total, 16 of the 23 players are from MLS, and 20 of the 23 are from North American clubs. Mexico will be fielding a weaker team in the Gold Cup competition as well, but it would come as a surprise if the USA and Mexico aren’t head-to-head in the final match. Should they falter, limited roster changes are allowed after the group stage is completed.
Two years ago the United States floundered a bit in the competition, losing to Panama in the third-place match, in penalty kicks. The U.S. brought their “A team” in 2015, and a few of those players are on the current roster. When the tournament begins on July 7, those players will have more than likely shared their memories with the rest of the current squad. Will that experience help them on the field this go-around?
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