The US will try to win Group D of the 2019 Gold Cup on Wednesday when it hosts Panama in Kansas Metropolis (9pm ET, FS1). ASN’s Brian Sciaretta previews the sport and offers his ideas as to what he thinks will occur.
BY
Brian Sciaretta
Posted
June 25, 2019
6:00 PM
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THE UNITED STATES nationwide workforce will face Panama on Wednesday evening at Kansas Metropolis’s Kids’s Mercy Park with first place in Group D on the road. Each groups have already secured a spot within the quarterfinals however the winner of this sport will win the group with the U.S. workforce holding the sting if there’s a draw.
U.S. supervisor Gregg Berhalter has began the identical lineup in every of the U.S. workforce’s first two video games – a 4-0 win over Guyana and a 6-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago. However it might not be stunning to see Berhalter make widespread modifications towards Panama – each to provide relaxation to the starters and to permit others an opportunity to show themselves in vital conditions.
Like within the first two video games, Berhalter is more likely to begin the sport with 4 within the again with the proper again more likely to press ahead and the left again more likely to stay additional again. The lone No. 6 midfielder will act as a deeper-lying playmaker with two No. 10 attacking midfielders forward of the No. 6, two wingers, and a lone ahead.
ASN’s predicted beginning XI
Essential check for gamers
There are numerous gamers who’ve loads to realize if Berhalter goes with sweeping substitutions.
The obvious could be Jozy Altidore who has not scored for the US nationwide workforce since 2017 however is trying to show that he’s nonetheless the perfect U.S. ahead within the sport proper now. Gyasi Zardes has three targets to this point on this match however Altidore has been sharp for Toronto since coming back from his foot harm.
Central defender Matt Miazga can be one who might stand to learn loads as he’s coming off a powerful second half of the season with Studying however is now trying to cement himself as one of many high two U.S. beginning central defenders.
One other huge query would be the means of Cristian Roldan and Djordje Mihailovic to create offense. Roldan is but to discover a defining efficiency for the U.S. workforce and different central midfielders like Jackson Yueill, Duane Holmes, and Paxton Pomykal might power him out. Mihailovic is in an identical scenario and had a poor outing towards Jamaica earlier than the Gold Cup however at 20, he’s nonetheless on the youthful facet.
However after being shutout within the pre-Gold Cup friendlies, the U.S. offense has sprung to life with quite a lot of objective scorers. The query will probably be which gamers can rating or create probabilities with out key gamers Christian Pulisic and Weston Mckennie on the sector. As well as, the wing manufacturing of Paul Arriola and Tyler Boyd has been efficient. But when Berhalter goes with a slew of substitutions, different gamers will probably be pressured to step up. If profitable, it is going to solely construct depth inside the U.S. workforce.
Getting into into this sport, Weston McKennie is the one U.S. participant carrying a yellow card who’s in danger for a suspension ought to he purchase one other one.
Just like the U.S. workforce, Panama is coming into the sport with wins in every of its first two video games – a 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago adopted by a 4-2 win over Guyana. Panama has six completely different objective scorers for its six completely different targets scored within the match. It’s captain, Roman Torres, is well-known to American followers as a mainstay on the backline of the Seattle Sounders.
The winner of Group D will face the second-place finisher from Group C. The runner up from Group D will face the winner of Group C. The possible high two finishers from Group C are Jamaica and El Salvador, though that order remains to be to be decided.
