The U.S. national team get their Gold Cup campaign underway against Guyana in Minnesota on Wednesday, with their preparations cast under a cloud after defeats to Jamaica and Venezuela.
While the USWNT is at the Women’s World Cup justifying their tag as tournament favorites, back home Gregg Berhalter’s side have a good deal of work to do if they are to turn their fortunes around and regain the title they won in 2017.
Against Guyana, the lowest FIFA-ranked team in the tournament and a nation making its debut on the major tournament stage, they are expected to win – and win handsomely.
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be watched on BeINSports and live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be available to watch via FreeSports.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| FreeSports | N/A |
Squads & Team News
| Position | USA squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Steffen, Johnson, Miller |
| Defenders | Lima, Gonzalez, Zimmerman, Ream, Cannon, Lovitz, Miazga, Long |
| Midfielders | Bradley, Trapp, McKennie, Pulisic, Roldan, Mihailovic |
| Forwards | Arriola, Zardes, Morris, Altidore, Lewis, Boyd |
Tyler Adams and Duane Holmes withdrew from Gregg Berhalter’s initial squad and have been replaced by Reggie Cannon and Djordje Mihailovic respectively.
Possible USMNT starting XI: Steffen; Lima, Miazga, Long, Ream; McKennie, Bradley, Pulisic; Arriola, Altidore, Boyd
| Position | Guyana squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Clarke, Murray, Roberts |
| Defenders | Layne, Daniel, Dover, Marsh-Brown, Cox, Gordon, Vancooten, Briggs |
| Midfielders | Bonds, Wilson, Danns, Duke-McKenna, Creavalle, Jeffrey |
| Forwards | Marsh-Brown, Holder, Welshman, Harriott, Schultz, Ondaan |
Guyana boss Michael Johnson is expected to set up his team very defensively.
The Golden Jaguars were hit with the withdrawal of Philadelphia Union midfielder Warren Creavalle, arguably their star player, shortly before the tournament began.
Possible Guyana starting XI: Murray; Layne, Gordon, Briggs; Duke-McKenna, Cox, Danns, Bonds, Daniel; Harriott, Welshman
Betting & Match Odds
The U.S. are super-hot favourites to win this match with Bet365, priced 1/50. Guyana are 50/1 outsiders and a draw is priced at 14/1.
Match Preview
The USMNT has not played a competitive match since the team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals nearly two years ago and recent friendly defeats against Jamaica and Venezuela have shown that Gregg Berhalter’s outfit is still one that is being molded.
However, the expectation levels upon the team are high ahead of a Gold Cup that they host: this team is expected to reach the final – if not successfully defend its trophy.
The Americans have been forced to wait patiently to join their own party, with the USA and Guyana the last teams to play their first matches.
Mexico, its main rivals for the title, have already served notice of their intent with a stunning 7-0 win over Cuba, a side a couple of spots higher than Guyana in the FIFA Ranking.
Guyana, meanwhile, is in the competition to play the role of spoilers. This is the first major tournament for a team, of which 11 play in England, eight of which are drawn from non-league football.
It qualified off the back of finishing seventh in the CONCACAF Nations League, though their pre-tournament friendlies do not bode well for their chances this summer, with a 1-0 loss against fellow debutants Bermuda followed by a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Haiti.
With few expectations upon their performance, the best they can realistically hope for is simply to be competitive among the big boys for the first time, with forward Emery Welshman hoping to catch the eye after scoring seven times in nine previous internationals.
“We’ll show no fear,” head coach Michael Johnson has promised. “We didn’t come this far to not go out on the pitch and give our best, so expect the boys to have a go at the USA.
“I’ve seen statements that don’t give us a chance, written us off; we won’t score a goal, easy game for America.
“But internally, I think there is an inner belief and a real resilience that that’s the case and I think that’s where the pressure comes from us in our own environment, thinking we can do a lot better than the so-called armchair pundits, press, players from America and coaching staff have said.”
This will be the first meeting of the countries and it is one that the USA is expected to win comfortably.
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