CHICAGO (July 14, 2017) – The U.S. Men’s National Team looks to finish atop 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B when it takes on Nicaragua in the Group Stage finale on Saturday, July 15. Coverage from FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland begins at 7 p.m. ET on FXX, Univision and Univision Deportes Network. Fans can also follow the game live on Facebook and Twitter at @ussoccer and @ussoccer_esp.
U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (Club; Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 57/0), Bill Hamid (D.C. United; 2/0), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 5/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City; 41/1), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca/MEX; 42/2), Matt Hedges (FC Dallas; 4/0), Eric Lichaj (Nottingham Forest/ENG; 12/0), Matt Miazga (Chelsea/ENG; 2/0), Justin Morrow (Toronto FC/CAN; 2/0), Jorge Villafaña (Santos Laguna, MEX; 8/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City; 50/5)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kellyn Acosta (FC Dallas; 11/1), Paul Arriola (Club Tijuana/MEX; 7/2), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia Union; 63/2), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana/MEX; 19/2), Dax McCarty (Chicago Fire; 9/0), Chris Pontius (Philadelphia Union; 3/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 1/0), Kelyn Rowe (New England Revolution; 2/0), Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy; 34/6)
FORWARDS (3): Juan Agudelo (New England Revolution; 25/3), Dom Dwyer (Sporting Kansas City; 2/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 18/4)
U.S. MNT MOVES INTO FIRST PLACE IN GROUP WITH 3-2 VICTORY AGAINST MARTINIQUE
Following a 1-1 draw with Panama in its opening match of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the USA utilized second-half goals from Omar Gonzalez (53’) and Jordan Morris (64’) to run out to a 2-0 lead against Martinique on Wednesday, only to have the Caribbean island pull level within 10 minutes. A nice combination with Gyasi Zardes saw Morris record what would stand as the game-winner in the 76th, the forward recording his first-multi goal international game and delivering the USA three points in the process.
That result pushed the USA to the top of the Group B table, tied on four points with Panama who defeated Nicaragua 2-1 earlier on Wednesday night. Level on goal differential, the U.S. leads the group by virtue of its four goals scored, compared to Panama’s three.
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2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B |
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|
TEAM |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
Pts. |
GF |
GA |
GD |
|
USA |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
+1 |
|
Panama |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
+1 |
|
Martinique |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
+1 |
|
Nicaragua |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
-3 |
ADVANCED NOTICE
The USA-Nicaragua clash will follow the encounter between Panama and Martinique Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. With the U.S. tied on four points with Panama, should Los Canaleros win against Martinique, the U.S. will know exactly how many goals it needs to defeat Nicaragua by in order to claim first in Group B. Should the U.S. finish in pole position, it will face the third-place finisher either from Group A or C, while a second-place finish would see the side face the winners of Group A, where Canada, Costa Rica and Honduras are still vying for the top spot.
The U.S. has finished on top of its group in 12 of its previous 13 CONCACAF Gold Cup appearances.
MORRIS DOUBLES INTERNATIONAL TALLY
The pair of goals for Jordan Morris in the second half against Panama took his international strike total to four, and made him the seventh U.S. MNT player all time to record multiple goals in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Still just 22, Morris is the second-youngest U.S. player to achieve the feat, trailing only Landon Donovan who tallied four goals against Cuba in a 5-0 Quarterfinal victory during the 2003 tournament.
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U.S. MNT Players With Multi-Goal Gold Cup Matches |
|
|
Player |
Multi-Goal Games |
|
Landon Donovan |
4 |
|
DaMarcus Beasley |
2 |
|
Clint Dempsey |
2 |
|
Brian McBride |
2 |
|
Chris Wondolowski |
2 |
|
Jordan Morris |
1 |
|
Eric Wynalda |
1 |
DOM DWYER STILL CHASING HISTORY
Since he didn’t appear in Wednesday’s 3-2 win against Martinique, forward Dom Dwyer still has a chance to become just the third U.S. player to record a goal in each of his first three international matches.
Having tallied in his U.S. debut on July 1 vs. Ghana as well as his first Gold Cup match on July 8 vs. Panama, Dwyer became just the 10th U.S. MNT player to find the back of the net in each of his first two appearances.
With rest from the Martinique match, Dwyer sets his sights on scoring in a third-straight game against Nicaragua, a feat achieved by just two previous U.S. players in Alexander Rae (1937) and Eddie Johnson (2004-05). Rae tallied in three straight friendly defeats to Mexico that year, while Johnson bested the record, scoring six goals across his first four MNT appearances, all of which came in World Cup Qualifying.
|
Player |
First Cap, First Goal |
Second Cap, Second Goal |
|
Charles Ellis |
3-2 W at Sweden (Aug. 20, 1916 |
1-1 D at Norway (Sept. 3, 1916) |
|
Rudolf Kuntner |
2-11 L vs. Argentina (May 30, 1928)+ |
3-3 D at Poland (June 10, 1928) |
|
Bert Patenaude |
3-0 W vs. Belgium (July 13, 1930)** |
3-0 W vs. Paraguay (July 17, 1930)** |
|
Aldo Donelli |
4-2 W vs. Mexico (May 24, 1934)* |
1-7 L at Italy (May 27, 1934)* |
|
John McEwan |
2-7 L at Mexico (Sept. 12, 1937) |
3-7 L at Mexico (Sept. 19, 1937) |
|
Alexander Rae |
2-7 L at Mexico (Sept. 12, 1937) |
3-7 L at Mexico (Sept. 19, 1937) |
|
Eddie Johnson |
2-0 W at El Salvador (Oct. 9, 2004)* |
6-0 W at Panama (Oct. 13, 2004)* |
|
Paul Arriola |
3-1 W at Puerto Rico (May 22, 2016) |
4-0 W vs. Trinidad & Tobago (Sept. 6, 2016) |
+ Denotes Olympic matches, * Denotes World Cup Qualifying matches, ** Denotes World Cup matches
CRISTIAN ROLDAN DEBUTS
Eligible to play for Guatemala or El Salvador due to his parents’ heritage, midfielder Cristian Roldan never put his hand over his heart for the Star Spangled Banner when lining up for his club team, Seattle Sounders FC. That decision wasn’t out of disrespect, but out of deference for both nations as he mulled his international future. Once he learned of his call-up for Gold Cup camp, Roldan changed the practice in Seattle and proudly earned his first international cap for the U.S., placing his hand over his heart ahead of the USA’s 3-2 victory vs. Martinique.
UTILIZING ROSTER DEPTH
Having handed Cristian Roldan his U.S. debut and using Chris Pontius as a substitute against Martinique, U.S. MNT head coach Bruce Arena has utilized 20 of the 23 players on his roster through the first two matches of the tournament.
FIRST MEETING VS. NICARAGUA
Saturday’s encounter with Nicaragua will mark time the nations have met at the senior international level. In the midst of their second CONCACAF Gold Cup, Los Pinoleros Albiazules will be the 97th different international opponent the U.S. MNT has faced since beginning play in 1916.
A PROVING GROUND
U.S. MNT players have long used the confederation championship as an extended audition for a place at the FIFA World Cup. Dating back to 1993, 18 players with 10 or less caps have made the jump from the most recent Gold Cup roster onto a FIFA World Cup roster (see table below). Most recently, current MNT center back Matt Besler utilized the USA’s run to the 2013 championship to make his way onto the 2014 roster in Brazil.
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U.S. MNT Players From Gold Cup to World Cup |
|
|
1993 Gold Cup/1994 World Cup |
Brad Friedel, Cle Kooiman, Roy Wegerle |
|
1998 Gold Cup/1998 World Cup |
Frankie Hejduk, Juergen Sommer |
|
2002 Gold Cup/2002 World Cup |
DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Pablo Mastroeni |
|
2005 Gold Cup/2006 World Cup |
Jimmy Conrad, Clint Dempsey, Marcus Hahnemann, Oguchi Onyewu |
|
2009 Gold Cup/2010 World Cup |
Clarence Goodson, Stuart Holden |
|
2013 Gold Cup/2014 World Cup |
Matt Besler, Mix Diskerud, Nick Rimando, Chris Wondolowski |
WHAT IS THE CONCACAF GOLD CUP?
Held every two years, the Gold Cup is the regional championship for CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. Along with lifting a trophy and earning supremacy in the confederation, the winner of the Gold Cup earns a place in the CONCACAF Cup, a one-game playoff that determines the region’s representative at the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup. Should the same team win both in 2017 and 2019, they will automatically earn a place in the tournament.
Placed in Group B, the U.S. opened the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Panama on July 8 in Nashville and defeated Martinique 3-2 on July 12 in Tampa. The team concludes the Group Stage with its first-ever meeting against Nicaragua on July 15 in Cleveland. The top two teams in each of the three groups automatically advance to the Quarterfinals and will be joined there by the two best third-place finishers.
USA HISTORY IN THE GOLD CUP
The United States has won five editions of the tournament, beginning with the inaugural 1991 Gold Cup when the team defeated Mexico 2-0 in the Semifinal before downing Honduras on penalty kicks in the Championship. Current U.S. MNT head coach Bruce Arena is one of two managers to win the tournament twice, lead the side to its second and third titles in 2002 and 2005 respectively and the team followed those up with wins in 2007 and 2013. In 13 editions of the tournament, the U.S. has played in the Final nine times and has advanced to the Semifinal on 12 occasions.
EXPERIENCE AT THE CORE …
The group-phase roster boasts a dozen players with experience in World Cup Qualifying and 11 who have played in a Gold Cup, including six with a Gold Cup medal in their trophy case and 2015 Golden Glove winner Brad Guzan.
EUROPEAN VACATION
The regular European-based contingent for the MNT is in the midst of a much-needed break between now and the World Cup next summer. Having completed their club seasons in May, the group went straight into camp for the World Cup Qualifiers in June. After a 14-day camp preparing for the rigors of altitude, the U.S. emerged with four points from two games including a huge draw away to Mexico. Now two weeks into holidays, they begin to return to preseason shortly with the hopes of earning regular playing time for the upcoming campaign.
USA ROSTER NOTES:
U.S. MNT IN THE GOLD CUP
USA-NICARAGUA NOTES
NICARAGUA ROSTER
GOALKEEPERS (3): Justo Lorente (UNAN FC), Henry Maradiaga (Real Estelí FC), Diedrich Tellez (Diriangen FC)
DEFENDERS (8): Luis Copete (Comerciantes Unidos/PER), Cyril Errington (Real Estelí FC), Oscar Lopez (Managua FC), Henry Niño (Jaco Rays FC/CRC), Josue Quijano (Real Estelí FC), Manuel Rosas (Real Estelí FC), Erick Tellez (Diriangen FC), Bismarck Veliz (Chinandega FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Daniel Cadena (Njarðvíkur/ISL), Elvis Figueroa (Real Estelí FC), Luis Galeano (Real Estelí FC), Bryan Garcia (Real Estelí FC), Marlon Lopez (Real Estelí FC), Maykel Montiel (UNAN FC), Bismarck Montiel (Managua FC), Luis Peralta (CD Walter Ferretti)
FORWARDS (4): Juan Barrera (Comunicaciones FC/GUA), Carlos Chavarria (Real Estelí FC), Jorge Hurtado (CD Walter Ferretti), Eulises Pavon (CD Suchitepéquez/GUA)
NICARAGUA NOTES