USMNT Focused on Curacao in Quarters of Gold Cup

By Sean McCaffery, June 29, 2019

The USMNT, aided by a weak group are again getting a big help in drawing Curacao in the quaterfinals of the Gold Cup. They did beat a pair of teams who beat them during World Cup Qualifers, Panama & Trinidad & Tobago but please let's be serious, they admitted themselves that they did not hope to have to play their best soccer in running the table and not relenting a goal while for the 2nd time in history & a best yet +11 goal differential. That it took a late bicycle kick from Jozy Altidore in the last half hour of the game to beat Panama 1-0 would be a bad pre cursour for their next game, but not considering their opponent. Tomorrow in Philadelphia at Lincoln Field 8 p.m. ET they will kickoff in their 14 semifinals of the tourney on FS 1, Univision, UDN & Futbol de Primera. Coach Gregg Berhalter has spead the minutes out as 22 players have made it to the field over the 3 games netting the 10 of 11 goals. In the unlikely event of a tie at the nd of regulation a 30' overtime will be played, with it an extra sub, if that does not break the tie it is then onto penalties. Never take an opponent lightly and the track record of the USMNT does not allow them to do so, see this past World Cup.

Should one get a pair of yellow cards, a one game suspension will follow to this point only Weston McKennie has one, from the TNT game. Every two years the Gold Cup kicks off and each time the USMNT has made it to the semis. Alomost equal to the 7 wins of Mexico, the US has 6 with Canada getting the other Cup. 

Kwik Kixx:

-The GWG by Altidore was his 42nd goal for the nation & 5th in Gold Cup.

-The USMNT has 11 goals from 6 players, those with multipule goals are Zardes with 3, Arriola, Boyd & Long each have a pair. 

-6 players have also assisted on goals, Morris & Pulisic are the only ones with multiples, 2 each.

-One of the 23 member roster has yet to get game time, GK Tyler Miller.

-Following his pair facing TNT, Zardes leads the team with 4 goals on the year, his best year already and the pair gave him 10, the 25th player to hit double digits.

-A 3 way tie for most appearances on the year at 8 has Zardes, Arriola & Trapp all knotted up.

-Back from injury, Jordan Morris was subbed in, getting both assists facing TNT.

-Will he play Sunday?, if so Michael Bradley gets his 23 game tying Kasey Keller for 3rd all time.

-The average age of the team on June 18 was  25 years 251 days and 24 caps.

-10 players have previous Gold Cup experience led by Bradley in his 4th.

-Of the 10 with previous experience only Tim Ream was not in the last one of 2016.

-MLS is the top league on the team with 17 players from a dozen teams.

-6 players are not from MLS, 4 play pro in England, while Germany & Portugal have one each.

-Not just tops in tournies, Bradley also leads in games played, his 22 almost double the next player.

-8 players have found the back of the net over their time in the Gold Cup.

- Only 5 players were alive when the US won their first title in 1991.

-The US has the best record in the Cup, 59-8-9 overall, 36-1-4 in the group stage and an impressive 9-0-1 in the quarters, missing the semis once, 2000.

-This weekend is the 3rd meet of the 2 sides, including a home-and-home series in 1986 World Cup Qualifiers.

-2010 saw Curacao change from the Netherlands Antilles, taking on all their historical records going back to 1932 when it joined FIFA.

-Curacao has a history with Netherlands as does the USMNT and its GM, Earnie Stewart, who played and worked there for most of his career, born in Veghel.

-Curacoa is ranked 79 by FIFA.

-HC Remko Bicentini has been a coach with the NT over 9 years.

-14 of the Curacao players are born in the Netherlands, 8 in Curacao, 1 in Bonaire.

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