Despite a litany of mistakes from the back four and very hungry El Salvador defense, the USMNT is through to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The 2-0 scoreline perhaps flattered the USA, but a win's a win.
Omar Gonzalez opened the scoring off a set piece, for his second goal of the tournament.
Right this minute, El Salvador and the USMNT are gearing up to play in a crucial Gold Cup quarterfinal match. The U.S. are clear favorites for this game, ranked the 35th best team in the world while El Salvador is 101st. In the 21 times the two have met, El Salvador have never beaten the U.S, losing 17 and drawing four.
It’s like Superman wearing a green cape or Cristiano Ronaldo without perfectly manicured hair — there’s just something off.
When the U.S. plays in the Gold Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, a few national team veterans won’t look quite right in the red, white and blue. Their numbers will be all wrong.
When Bruce Arena called up a few of his top veterans to bolster the USMNT for the Gold Cup knockout rounds, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley and others joined a squad that had already doled out the first 23 jersey numbers.
It didn't take Christian Pulisic long to show his new boss what he can do with the ball at his feet. In Borussia Dortmund’s first match of the International Champions Cup against renovated AC Milan in China, Pulisic had two assists and drew a penalty as the Germans cruised to a 3-1 win.
New Dortmund coach Peter Bosz will likely have few complaints with the 18-year-old American, who was subbed off in the 74th minute. Bosz was brought in from Ajax in June after guiding the Dutch team to the Europa League final.
Ann Coulter can add another thing to be angry about: the Mexican national soccer team.
If you are a fan of U.S. soccer or a frequenter of social media in general than there’s a good chance that Cassius Dwyer, the son of Sydney Leroux and Dom Dwyer, is one of your favorite little humans.
Though he’s only 10 months old, young Cassius has already shown he has quite personality. We feeling he's had some strong opinions while watching the U.S. men in the Gold Cup recently. After all, there’s nothing more pure than a baby’s reaction.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal match-ups are set. Only eight teams remain. Let's check them out:
July 19: Costa Rica vs. Panama
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: FOX Sports 1, Univision
Match-up: Costa Rica finished first in Group A, and Panama finished second in Group B. Costa Rica thrives on an organized defense and the creativity of Benfica midfielder Bryan Ruiz on offense. Panama's top players include Porto forward Ismail Diaz and NYCFC midfielder Miguel Camargo.
Mexico managed to top Group C at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-0 victory over Curacao and a 1-1 draw between Jamaica and El Salvador.
Mexico didn't have it easy, though. Jesus Corona was called into action early, and made a fine save to prevent Curacao from going ahead.
It is now time to take the CONCACAF Gold Cup seriously. A Gold Cup rule allows managers to make up to six changes between the group and knockout stages, and USMNT manager Bruce Arena is bringing in his all-time leading goalscorer, his number one goalkeeper, his captain, his top striker and Darlington Nagbe, who's probably the best player of the bunch.
From USSoccer.com:
When the United States began their Gold Cup campaign last Saturday I was in a bar. I was there to watch this game, but somewhere around the 30th minute I started to drift. I was like a pass from the American midfield — serenely floating here and there without any purpose or sense of direction.
Dom Dwyer’s opening goal sent the bartender on a rambling ode to Sydney Leroux that lasted until tonight’s match against Nicaragua, a week-long sonnet on unrealized love.