U.S. MNT Set To Square Off With Cuba In Gold Cup Quarterfinal

U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Cuba
Gold Cup - Quarterfinal
M&T Bank Stadium; Baltimore, Maryland
July 18, 2015

U.S. MNT SET TO SQUARE OFF WITH CUBA IN GOLD CUP QUARTERFINAL: The U.S. Men’s National Team will matchup with Cuba in the quarterfinals of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Saturday, July 18 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast live on FOX and Univision.

The U.S. has reached the quarterfinal in each of the eight Gold Cups that have had that stage. The team does so this year after winning Group A, netting seven points on wins against Honduras, 2-1, and Haiti, 1-0, and a draw with Panama, 1-1. Cuba qualified as one of the tournament’s top two third-place teams after collecing three points in Group C on a win against Guatemala 1-0 on the last day of group play. Cuba lost its other two matches to Mexico, 6-0, and Trinidad and Tobago, 2-0.

The USA is 8-1-1 all-time against Cuba and is riding an eight-match winning streak against the Caribbean nation. Cuba and the MNT have met five times in the Gold Cup, in which the USA holds a perfect 5-0-0 record. The last meeting came in the 2013 edition of the tournament, with the U.S. collecting a 4-1 triumph on a brace from Chris Wondolowski and goals from Joe Corona and Landon Donovan.

The pair has met one other time in a Gold Cup quarterfinal. In 2003, the United States cruised to a 5-0 win against the Cubans in a game where Donovan became one of four players in U.S. history to score four goals in one game.

The MNT has played one other game within the confines of M&T Bank Stadium, a Gold Cup quarterfinal in 2013. The MNT defeated El Salvador 5-1 in front of 70,540 on the way to its fifth Gold Cup trophy.

MNT IN THE GOLD CUP

• The MNT is 7-0-1 in quarterfinal matches and 19-6-4 in knockout matches all-time in the Gold Cup.
• The lone quarterfinal blemish came in 2000, when the side drew 2-2 with Colombia before falling 3-1 on penalty kicks.
• Current U.S. players that have scored in previous Gold Cup quarterfinals: DaMarcus Beasley (2 in 3-1 win vs. Jamaica; 2005), Kyle Beckerman (2-1 win vs. Panama; 2009), Clint Dempsey (2-0 win vs. Jamaica; 2011), Joe Corona and Mix Diskerud (5-1 win vs. El Salvador; 2013).
• The U.S. is 1-1-1 all-time in Baltimore and 1-0-0 at M&T Bank Stadium. The ground was the site of the team’s quarterfinal in the 2013 Gold Cup, where the U.S. defeated El Salvador 5-1.
• The MNT has won its group in 12 of the 13 Gold Cups
• The U.S. is now 50-7-7 all-time in Gold Cup matches and has reached the quarterfinal in each of the last seven Gold Cups, going a perfect 7-0-0 in those games

U.S. ROSTER NOTES:

• After the group stage, three roster changes were made, with DaMarcus Beasley, Joe Corona and Alan Gordon replacing Greg Garza, Alfredo Morales and Jozy Altidore
• Beasley joins the group as the most experienced player of the 23, having earned 121 caps for the United States. Beasley has been a part of four U.S. World Cup teams, and last appeared for the USA in a 2-1 defeat to Colombia on Nov. 14, 2014. Shortly after, Beasley retired from international play, but now returns for his sixth Gold Cup (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013), having already been a part of four Gold Cup title winning teams and serving as captain of the 2013 championship team.
• Alan Gordon was a part of the team that won the Gold Cup in 2013 and with his summons, the LA Galaxy striker earned his first call-up to the team in 2015. Joe Corona played a big part in the MNT’s 2013 Gold Cup title run, scoring twice in the tournament.
• Clint Dempsey scored three goals in the group stage, two of which were game-winners, to push his career total to eight Gold Cup goals, which ties Brian McBride for the third-most in MNT history. Dempsey has scored in three of the last four MNT matches and has increased his career total to 44 international goals, which ranks second on the USA’s all-time list. Dempsey has scored five times in 2015.
• Kyle Beckerman returns home for Saturday’s match. The Real Salt Lake midfielder hails from just down the road in Crofton, Md.
• Midfielder Graham Zusi (2005-2008) and defender Omar Gonzalez (2006-2008) both played collegiately at the University of Maryland. Zusi won the 2005 NCAA Championship, and the pair were both part of the championship team in 2008.
• Against Haiti, defender Tim Ream made his first start since June 11, 2011 when the U.S. faced Panama in Gold Cup play.
• The U.S. MNT set attendance records in three games: #USAvGUA in Tennessee was the most-attended soccer match in state history, #USAvHON was the most-attended international match at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, and #USAvHAI was the most-attended MNT Gold Cup match at Gillette Stadium. A sell-out crowd was on hand in Kansas City for #USAvPAN.
• Ten MNT players on the current roster have made their Gold Cup debuts in this tournament: Brad Guzan, Greg Garza, Timmy Chandler, Ventura Alvarado, John Brooks, Aron Johannsson, Fabian Johnson, DeAndre Yedlin, Gyasi Zardes and Graham Zusi.
• Michael Bradley has played every minute of the USA’s 11 matches so far in 2015. In addition to Bradley, Gyasi Zardes has appeared in all 11 games this year:
• Bradley, Chris Wondolowski, Kyle Beckerman, Dempsey, Beasley and Mix Diskerud have all scored goals in previous Gold Cups.
• Sixteen players on this roster were a part of the 2014 FIFA World Cup squad, marking the highest return rate of players between the two rosters in years that the Gold Cup has followed the FIFA World Cup (1991, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2013).
• Seven players were a part of the USA team that won the Gold Cup in 2013: Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Alejandro Bedoya, Diskerud, Omar Gonzalez, Nick Rimando and Wondolowski.
• The USA has reached the Gold Cup Final in five straight tournaments and six out of the last seven. The team finished in third place in 2003 after losing to a Kaka-led Brazil.
• Dempsey (18), Bradley (14) and Beckerman (13) have all played in more than 10 Gold Cup games. Wondolowski (10) and Bedoya (9) have also seen their share of Gold Cup action.
• The USA has won the Gold Cup five times (1991, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013) and finished as the runner-up four times (1992, 1998, 2009, 2011). The MNT has finished outside of the top four only once (2000).
• Nine different players from this roster have scored for the USA in 2015: Jozy Altidore, Bradley, John Brooks, Timmy Chandler, Dempsey, Diskerud, Aron Johannsson, Wondolowski and Gyasi Zardes.
• Michael Bradley is the captain for the MNT for the USA’s run in the Gold Cup. Bradley has started as the team’s captain in eight straight matches.
• Tim Ream has earned honors as the Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year in each of the last two seasons.
• Against Netherlands on June 5, Brad Guzan made his first appearance since he played against Colombia on Nov. 14, 2014. It was his first start of 2015. Also picking up wins against Germany, Guatemala and Honduras and Haiti, Guzan is a perfect 5-0-0 in 2015.
• Fabian Johnson helped lift Borussia Mönchengladbach to a third-place finish in the Bundesliga that earned the club a spot in the 2016 UEFA Champions League group stage. The German side went 10-0-2 with Johnson in the starting lineup this season.
• Johannsson recorded four goals in his final three matches as AZ Alkmaar snatched the third spot in the Dutch Eredivisie and a place in the 2016 UEFA Europa League.
• Alfredo Morales played a key role in FC Ingolstadt securing first place in the second division in Germany and subsequent promotion to the Bundesliga.
• Zusi was both part of the team that represented the U.S. in the World Cup last summer and this year’s Gold Cup roster. He made his first appearance of 2015 in the match against Guatemala on July 3 in Nashville.
• William Yarbrough, 26, was born and raised in Mexico to two American parents. He has marshaled the backline for Club Leon to the 2013 Apertura and 2014 Clausura titles.
• Ventura Alvarado, who is now cap-tied to the U.S. after starting in the match against Honduras on July 7, has appeared in seven straight matches since making his debut in a U.S. uniform on March 25 against Denmark. Alvarado is a regular starter for the Club America team that captured the CONCACAF Champions League title and a trip to the FIFA Club World Cup. He has started four of the last five games for the U.S. MNT, in which the team is 4-0-0.
• Seven leagues from six countries are represented on the roster: Canada, England, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands and the United States.
• Dempsey leads the team in points with 10 in 2015 on five goals.
• William Yarbrough, 26, was born and raised in Mexico to two American parents. He has marshaled the backline for Club Leon to the 2013 Apertura and 2014 Clausura titles.
• Ventura Alvarado, who is now cap-tied to the U.S. after starting in the match against Honduras on July 7, has appeared in seven straight matches since making his debut in a U.S. uniform on March 25 against Denmark. Alvarado is a regular starter for the Club America team that captured the CONCACAF Champions League title and a trip to the FIFA Club World Cup. He has started five of the last six games for the U.S. MNT, in which the team is 4-0-1.
• Seven leagues from six countries are represented on the roster: Canada, England, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands and the United States.
• Dempsey leads the team in points with 10 in 2015 on five goals.

USA vs. Cuba:

• The MNT is 8-1-1 all-time against Cuba and a perfect 5-0-0 in Gold Cup matches. The U.S. is currently on an eight-match winning streak against the island nation, dating back to Sept. 21, 1949.
• Saturday’s match comes nearly 12 years to the day the two sides met in the Gold Cup quarterfinals. In that match, Landon Donovan became just the fourth U.S. player all-time to score four goals in a game, as the U.S. downed Cuba 5-0 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on July 19, 2003.
• The teams last met in the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage as a Chris Wondolowski brace and single strikes from Landon Donovan and Joe Corona guided the U.S. to a 4-1 win on July 13, 2013 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
• Newly added to the roster, DaMarcus Beasley leads the team with three career international goals against Cuba. Dempsey and Wondolowski have scored two, while Corona has one.

Last time out:

The USA completed group play unbeaten (2-0-1), concluding with a 1-1 draw against Panama  on July 13 in front of a sell-out crowd of 18,467 fans in Kansas City, Kansas.

• Michael Bradley scored his 14th career goal and his first in a Gold Cup since 2011. It was Bradley’s second goal against Panama this year.
• With his appearance tonight, Bradley tied Kasey Keller for 12th on the MNT’s all-time caps list at 102.
  
  

Jurgen Klinsmann Fact File

Jurgen Klinsmann became the 35th head coach in the history of the U.S. Men’s National Team on July 29, 2011. Here is a look at the program’s achievements since that time:

• Overall, Klinsmann has a 41-17-12 record, third on the U.S. MNT’s all-time coaching wins list. The top five include: Bruce Arena (71), Bob Bradley (43), Klinsmann (34), Bora Milutinovic (30) and Steve Sampson (26).
• He won a record-setting 13 straight games at home from June 2, 2013 to Feb. 1, 2014, and has guided the team to an unbeaten record of 17-0-3 in its past 20 matches on home soil.
• He led the MNT to a 12-game winning streak in 2013, the longest in program history.
• The U.S. finished 2013 with a 16-4-3 record. The 16 victories and .761 winning percentage are all-time U.S. MNT records for a calendar year.
• The U.S. finished the final round of 2013 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying atop the Hexagonal with a 7-1-2 overall record, including an unblemished 5-0-0 home record that was achieved by pitching clean sheets in all five matches.
• The team won six straight games en route to capturing the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup, during which the squad scored a tournament-record 20 goals. Klinsmann is 9-0-0 in the Gold Cup with the USA.
• Committed to challenging the group against the best, under Klinsmann, the United States has a 4-3-2 record against teams ranked in the top 10 in the world. With Klinsmann at the helm, the U.S. has also collected six historic victories:o Beating four-time World Cup champion Italy for the first time
• Earning the first win against Mexico on Mexican soil
• Defeating Jamaica on the road for the first time in World Cup Qualifying
• Topping second-ranked Germany in U.S. Soccer’s Centennial Celebration Match
• Beating Netherlands and Germany on the road this June
• Klinsmann’s U.S. coaching debut was a 1-1 draw against Mexico on Aug. 10, 2011, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. During Klinsmann’s abbreviated 2011 tenure, the USA’s two victories included a 1-0 win against Honduras (Oct. 8) and a 3-2 victory against Slovenia (Nov. 15).
• Klinsmann was named Germany’s National Team manager in 2004 and guided Germany to a 20-6-8 record and a third-place finish in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He earned Coach of the Year honors in Germany, and two years later, he took over the head coaching position at Germany’s most high-profile club, Bayern Munich.
• As a player, Klinsmann played 17 club seasons from 1981-98 with the following teams: Stuttgarter Kickers (1981-84), VfB Stuttgart (1984-89), Internazionale (1989-92), Monaco (1992-94), Tottenham Hotspur (1994-95, 97-98), Bayern Munich (1995-97) and Sampdoria (1997-98). During that time, he scored 226 goals in 506 appearances. He was named German Player of the Year in 1988 and 1994 and FWA Footballer of the Year in 1995.
• Klinsmann earned 108 caps with the German National Team, scoring 47 goals. He participated in three World Cups (1990, 1994 and 1998) and won the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
• Klinsmann was born on July 30, 1964, in Goppingen, Germany.

IN FOCUS: Cuba
Asociación de Fútbol de Cuba
Founded: 1924
FIFA Affiliation: 1929
Head Coach: Raul Gonzalez Triana
FIFA World Ranking: 104
Best World Cup Finish: Quarterfinals, 1938
Best Gold Cup Finish: Quarterfinals: 2003, 2013
Leading Cap-Winner: Yenier Marquez (126)
Leading Goalscorer: Lester More (29)

Cuba Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2) – Diosvelis Guerra (Artemisa/Cuba), Sandy Sanchez (Las Tunas/Cuba)
DEFENDERS (9) – Jorge Luis Clavelo (Villa Clara/Cuba), Jorge Luis Corrales (Pinal Del Rio/Cuba), Adrian Diz Pe (La Habana/Cuba), Hanier Dranguet (Guantanamo/Cuba); Angel Horta (Camaguey/Cuba), Yasmany Lopez (Ciego De Avila/Cuba), Yenier Marquez Molina (Villa Clara/Cuba), Yaisnier Napoles (Camaguey/Cuba), Andy Vaquero (La Habana/Cuba),
MIDFIELDERS (5) – Alain Cervantes (Ciego De Avila/Cuba), Alberto Gomez (Guantanamo/Cuba), Felix Guerra (Granma/Cuba), Daniel Luis (La Habana/Cuba), Liban Dairon Perez (Camaguey/Cuba)
FORWARDS (2) – Armando Coroneaux (Camaguey/Cuba), Maikel Reyes (Pinar Del Rio/Cuba)

CUBA NOTES:

• The win against Guatemala was Cuba’s first of the tournament and broke a three-match scoreless streak
• This is the first time that the Caribbean nation has qualified for consecutive Gold Cups. In 2013, the Cubans also reached the quarterfinals despite losing the first two matches
• In 23 Gold Cup games, Cuba holds a record of 3-18-2
• Lester More has three career Gold Cup goals
• Maikel Reyes scored the game-winner against Guatemala
• This is the third Gold Cup for head coach Raul Gonzalez
• Cuba has lost nine of its last 11 Gold Cup matches, with all nine of those losses coming by multiple goals. In its last 11 matches, it holds a goal differential of -35 against opponent

On the field against Cuba:  
July 13, 2015 – M&T Bank Stadium – Baltimore, Md. – Gold Cup Group Stage
USA                4          Donovan, Corona, Wondolowski (2)
CUBA             1          Jose Ciprian Alfonso

Lineups: 
USA: 1-Nick Rimando; 13-Tony Beltran, 5-Oguchi Onyewu (capt.), 4-Michael Orozco Fiscal, 2-Edgar Castillo; 14-Kyle Beckerman; 6-Joe Corona, 11-Stuart Holden (8-Mix Diskerud, 58) 23-Brek Shea (16-Jose Torres, 46); 10-Landon Donovan, 9-Herculez Gomez (19-Chris Wondolowski, 58) 
Substitutions Not Used: 3-Corey Ashe, 7-DaMarcus Beasley, 12-Sean Johnson, 15-Michael Parkhurst, 17-Will Bruin, 18-Jack McInerney, 20-Alejandro Bedoya, 21-Clarence Goodson, 22-Bill Hamid 
Head coach: Jurgen Klinsmann

CUB: 1-Odelín Molina; 15-Renay Malblanche, 14-Alianne Urgelles Montoya, 5-Jorge Clavelo (capt.), 13-Jorge Corrales, 6-Joel Colome; 11-Ariel Martinez, 20-Alberto Gomez (18-Liban Perez, 67), 8-Jaime Colome (10-Miguel Sanchez, 78), 3-Yenier Marquez; 9-Jose Ciprian Alfonso (17-Alexey Zuasnabar, 62) 
Subs not used: 2-Michel Marquez, 4-Yasmany Lopez, 7-Armando Coroneaux, 12-Julio Ramos, 16-Angel Horta Lopez, 19-Dayron Blanco, 21-Disovelis Guerra, 22-Yoandir Puga 23-Jesús Rodriguez 
Head coach: Walter Benitez