Gyasi Zardes
USA v Haiti July 2015 Gold Cup
Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Washington
When: Saturday, June 4th, 2016
Group B in the Copa America Centenario is set to open up in Seattle at CenturyLink Field between COMEBOL’s Peru and CONCACAF’s Haiti. In a group that also includes Ecuador and Brazil, this may be the easiest match-up for either team in terms of the group stage. Both teams will need points here to have any sort of chance at coming out of the group stage.
Unlike 2015 Copa America’s roster, Peru does not feature Jefferson Farfan, Claudio Pizzaro, or Juan Miguel Vargas in this year’s tournament, who have a combined 222 caps for the South American nation. Instead, La Blanquirroja’s manager Ricardo Gareca chose a more youthful and more domestic-based squad to compete, with eleven of the players having less than ten caps for their country and the majority of their roster playing for domestic clubs.
While the Peruvians do have striker Paolo Guerrero, who has scored 26 times in 67 caps, Raúl Ruidíaz may be someone to keep an eye on, who has scored 22 times in 22 appearances in 2015-2016 for his club Universitario. Edison Flores (Universitario), Renato Tapia (Feyenoord), Yoshimar Yotún (Malmö FF) are all players to watch in Saturday’s game and throughout the tournament.
The South American side should not be overlooked despite Ecuador and Brazil being in the group. They finished with the bronze medal in the Copa America in 2015 and these young players will have something to prove on the international stage and provide some hope for their fans that there’s a strong future for this squad. Their pre-tournament tune-up coming into the competition gave some confidence in Gareca’s selection, as they defeated Trinidad & Tobago 4-0 and El Salvador 3-1.
While Haiti may be making their first ever appearance in the Copa America, they looks to be the complete opposite of Peru in terms of squad composition, as manager Patrice Neveu chose a far more experienced and capped side. Among Neveu’s selections, the squad features Kervens Belfort (1461 Trabzon), James Marcelin (Carolina RailHawks FC), Mechack Jérôme (Jacksonville Armada FC), and Soni Mustivar (Sporting Kansas City).
Les Grenadiers look to be the odd man out of this group, as they are the lowest ranked squad among the four.While this side may have struggled against Colombia, losing 3-1, they are not not necessarily a pushover. Defensively, the team has shown a lot of grit. Until their friendly against Colombia, Les Grenadiers hadn’t given up more than a goal in any of their games, dating back until March 27th, 2015. Goalkeeper and captain Johnny Placide found plenty of playing time in Ligue 1 playing for Reims and will need to continue to translate his experience there to this side. Their attack does leave a lot to be desired, despite having the pace of Jeff Louis, Belfort, and Duckens Nazon. They struggle to find goals during games, leaving most of their results ending in 1-0 or 0-1 scoreline. They will likely continue to try to surprise opposing defenses through the counterattack regardless.
Haiti can look to their 2015 Gold Cup run as a instrument of inspiration, they defended well against a strong United States side before falling 0-1 to a goal by Clint Dempsey, drawing against Panama 1-1, and beat Honduras 1-0, before losing to Jamaica in the quarterfinals.
Peru will need to take note of these performances as they come into their game in Seattle this Saturday. Guerrero will need to lead this attack and find a way to penetrate through Haiti’s stubborn defense. An early goal would calm some early tournament nerves for this youthful side and put pressure onto the CONCACAF side to have to attack, giving them more opportunities to score again. Neither team can afford a draw in this match, unless they have confidence that they can hold off Brazil or Ecuador’s attack.
Rosters
Haiti
Goalkeepers: Steward Ceus (Minnesota United), Luis Valendi Odelus (Aigle Noir), Johny Placide (captain) (Reims)
Defenders: Romain Genevois (Nice), Mechack Jérôme (Jacksonville Armada), Judelin Aveska (Atlético Uruguay), Reginal Goreux (Standard Liège), Kim Jaggy (Aarau), Alex Christian (Vila Real), Jean Sony Alcenat (Voluntari), Stephane Lambese (Paris Saint-Germain Academy)
Midfielder: Jean Marc Alexandre (Fort Lauderdale Strikers), Kevin Lafrance (Chrobry Głogów), Soni Mustivar (Sporting Kansas City), Max Hilaire (Cholet), Pascal Millien (Jacksonville Armada), Sony Norde (Mohun Bagan), James Marcelin (Carolina RailHawks)
Forwards: Wilde-Donald Guerrier (Wisła Kraków), Kervens Belfort (1461 Trabzon), Jeff Louis (Caen), Jean-Eudes Maurice (Sài Gòn), Duckens Nazon (Laval)
Peru
Goalkeepers: Carlos Caceda (Universitario), Pedro Gallese (Juan Aurich), Diego Penny (Sporting Cristal)
Defenders: Luis Abram (Sporting Cristal), Jair Cespedes (Sporting Cristal), Aldo Corzo (Deportivo Municipal), Christian Ramos (Juan Aurich), Alberto Rodriguez (Sporting Cristal), Miguel Trauco (Universitario), Yoshimar Yotun (Malmo)
Midfielders: Armando Alfageme (Deportivo Municipal), Adán Balbín (Universitario), Cristian Benavente (Charleroi), Christian Cueva (São Paulo), Luiz da Silva (Jong PSV), Alejandro Hohberg (Universidad Cesar Vallejo), Renato Tapia (Feyenoord), Óscar Vílchez (Alianza Lima)
Forwards: Luiz da Silva (Jong PSV), Edison Flores (Universitario), Paolo Guerrero (Flamengo), Andy Polo (Universitario), Raul Ruidiaz (Universitario)
