Old Bay, National Bohemian beer, and The Wire. These are the things that one normally associates with the city of Baltimore. But on Saturday night for the second consecutive time Charm City will host the Gold Cup Quarterfinals. M&T Bank Stadium will play host to Saturday’s doubleheader of the United States-Cuba (5pm Fox, Univision) and Jamaica-Haiti (7pm Fox Sports 2, Univision Deportes). The winners will go on to the semi-final of the Gold Cup.
7 July 2015: USA forward Clint Dempsey (#8) and teammates Chris Wondolowski (#18) and USA defender Ventura Alvarado (#13) celebrate Dempsey’s 2nd goal during the Gold Cup Group Stage match between the USA and Honduras at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The USA won the game 2-1.
If there is one theme to this year’s Gold Cup it is that anything that can happen. Of the four teams playing in Saturday, only the United States was expected to here at this point. Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti have all overcome significant odds to make it to this point and all three have shown the strides that their football associations have made in the past few years.
For the first match, it would seem that the United States would carry a significant advantage over Cuba. Although Cuba has improved steadily since the start of the tournament (not that difficult considering they lost 6-1 in their opener against Mexico) the team revealed on Friday that starting forward Ariel Martinez had defected. He was the fourth player to do so in this tournament, joining Keiler Garcia, Arael Arguellez and Dario Suarez. Without Martinez, Cuba will need Maikel Reyes to continue to find space on set pieces. USA will be without John Anthony Brooks due to yellow card accumulation so that will help.
The key for Cuba in this match will be to maintain their composure and structure. With Jozy Altidore now out of the tournament, U.S. Men’s National Team coach will likely use Clint Dempsey and Gyassi Zardes up top with Michael Bradley playing as an attacking midfielder. In Monday’s 1-1 draw with Panama, the trio showed what they can do with time with an exquisite series of one touch passes leading to Bradley’s goal. Adding in Alejandro Bedoya gives the U.S. attack an extra option out wide that will distract defenders from Dempsey. Cuban goalkeeper Diosvelis Guerra did an excellent job in the Guatemala match in keeping his young defenders in their correct spots and maintaining order.
The last time that these two teams played was two years ago during the Gold Cup Group Stage. During that match Cuba struck first and played stifling defense to maintain their lead. Only when squad depth became an issue did the island nation eventually wilt. Expect a similar inspired performance tomorrow despite the obvious disparity in play.
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Though most supporters may be solely interested in the first match, it is the second match that should prove to be the more competitive. Both Jamaica and Haiti are coming off of excellent Group Stages and both sides seem to have their eyes beyond Baltimore and just up the I-95 corridor towards Philadelphia.
Jean Sony Alcenat of Haiti, who plays for Steaua Bucharest, will be leaned on heavily to provide defensive support for a fledgling Haitian side (photo credit: CONCACAF)
The winner of this match will be determined in the midfield. Against Honduras, Haiti used a simple but effective attack where center midfielder James Marcelin ran the ball down the center of the pitch drawing the attention of multiple defenders. That in turn opened up space for forward Duckens Nazon on the outside to put in the game-winner. Nazon and midfielder Sony Norde will likely not have the same amount of room against Jamaica, Midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson will need to cover Marcelin closely otherwise the defense may be split open.
Look for left-midfielder Jobi McAnuff to play a prominent role in this match. McAnuff has been the difference-maker for Jamaica in this tournament and always seems to be the one starting the counter-attack. Haiti struggled against the United States in their second group match when Gyassi Zardes was able to break free on the counter-attack. Jobi does not need to score; that responsibility rests with Darren Mattocks and Giles Barnes. But he does need to provide service for them and that at times for Jamaica has been lacking.
Jamaica and Haiti last met in the Group Stage of the 2014 Caribbean Cup, a match that saw the Reggae Boyz win 2-0 thanks to goals by Mattocks (20′) and Simon Dawkins (13′). If Mattocks can get one early they can force the Haitians to chase. But Haiti has shown all throughout this tournament that if they can keep things close they can win.
