U.S. MNT Has Goals From Nine Different Players Going Into Gold Cup Final
During the USA's 2-0 Gold Cup Semifinal win vs. Costa Rica, Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey became the eighth and ninth U.S. MNT players to score at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
In advance of the Semifinal against Costa Rica, head coach Bruce Arena reminded the media that the U.S. MNT had scored the most goals in the tournament so far. While the nine goals in four games deserved mention, equally significant is the range of scorers.
With the goals by Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey against Los Ticos, a total of nine different U.S. players have found the back of the net through five matches in the competition. For comparison’s sake, the next closest is Mexico with six ahead of Sunday night’s Semifinal against Jamaica.
|
2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Results and Goal Scorers |
|||
|
Date |
Result |
Goal Scorers |
Round |
|
July 8, 2017 |
Dwyer |
Group Stage |
|
|
July 12, 2017 |
Morris (2), O. Gonzalez |
Group Stage |
|
|
July 15, 2017 |
Corona, Rowe, Miazga |
Group Stage |
|
|
July 19, 2017 |
O. Gonzalez, Lichaj |
Quarterfinal |
|
|
July 22, 2017 |
Altidore, Dempsey |
Semifinal |
|
And while the mark is impressive, it isn’t yet unprecedented. In fact, the tournament record was set by the United States during the 2009 tournament, when 10 different players registered goals. Additionally, when the U.S. last won the Gold Cup in 2013, it also had goal-scoring contributions from nine different players.
One of the keys to any team finding success in a tournament setting is receiving contributions from a number of players. During the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bruce Arena has made it a point to 27 of the 29 players on his roster.
As the team advanced to the Final with Saturday’s 2-0 win against Costa Rica, the obvious payoff has been fresher legs in the deep stages of the tournament.
Check out the team goal-scoring highs from each of the 13 previous CONCACAF Gold Cups below:
|
Year |
Team (Number of goal scorers) |
|
1991 |
USA (7) |
|
1993 |
Mexico (7) |
|
1996 |
Brazil, Mexico, USA (5) |
|
1998 |
Costa Rica (5) |
|
2000 |
Peru (6) |
|
2002 |
USA (6) |
|
2003 |
USA (7) |
|
2005 |
Mexico, USA (6) |
|
2007 |
USA (8) |
|
2009 |
USA (10) |
|
2011 |
Mexico (7) |
|
2013 |
USA (9) |
|
2015 |
Mexico (6) |
|
2017 |
USA (9)* |
|
*Still one game to be played |
|