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The United States men’s national team opens up its Concacaf Gold Cup group stage play on Sunday against Haiti.
The USMNT is one month removed from winning the first-ever Concacaf Nations League, but the squad that won that title over Mexico in Denver will not be present at the Gold Cup.
Gregg Berhalter has called upon a roster of players primarily based in Major League Soccer to win the Gold Cup while the European club stars prepare for preseason across the pond.
Of course, the USMNT will try to win the trophy, but that is not the only motivation for the players inside the squad.
The likes of Gianluca Busio, Miles Robinson and Walker Zimmerman will have opportunities to impress Berhalter and potentially play their way into the World Cup qualifying squad this fall.
The USMNT will play each of its three group games at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. Haiti and Martinique should serve as warm-ups ahead of the group-stage finale with Canada.
USMNT vs. Haiti Info
Date: Sunday, July 11
Start Time: 9 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
Live Stream: FoxSports.com and Fox Sports app
Odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook): USMNT (-375; bet $375 to win $100); Haiti (+900; bet $100 to win $900); Draw (+425)
Preview
The USMNT should have an easy Sunday night in Kansas City against Haiti.
The Haitians needed to win two Gold Cup qualifying matches last week just to qualify for the competition. Haiti defeated Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Bermuda by a combined 10-2 in Fort Lauderdale.
Haiti was the surprise of the 2019 Gold Cup, as it reached the semifinals through a quarterfinal win over Canada.
However, Haiti failed to directly qualify for the Gold Cup and it has never beaten the USMNT in three Gold Cup matches.
Even though the first-teamers are on holiday, or preparing for their European preseasons, the USMNT still boasts a dangerous roster that should earn six points from the matches with Haiti and Martinique.
Gyasi Zardes should be the focal point of the attack to start the tournament. The Columbus Crew man has the most caps of any field player on the USMNT roster and owns 12 international tallies.
Daryl Dike, Nicholas Gioacchini and Matthew Hoppe are deserving of chances off the bench, or next to Zardes, but they will not be the primary forwards to start.
Dike should have the best odds to breakthrough in the final third on the international level after a wildly successful loan spell with Barnsley in the English Championship.
The Orlando City striker is one of the hottest American names on the transfer rumor mill because of his exploits in the English second division.
Gianluca Busio, a 19-year-old midfielder, is another player to watch from a transfer perspective. MLSSoccer.com’s Tom Bogert reported on Friday that promoted Serie A side Venezia were inching closer to signing the Sporting Kansas City player.
Busio will fight for minutes alongside Sebastian Lletget, Paul Arriola and others in midfield. Lletget and Arriola are veteran mainstays that are two of the most likely players on the Gold Cup roster to be involved at the start of World Cup qualifying.
Walker Zimmerman and Miles Robinson may be under the most focus from the first-team perspective. With Aaron Long out with an Achilles injury, Berhalter does not have a partner for John Brooks at center back set in stone.
If Zimmerman and Robinson impress throughout the Gold Cup, they could be elevated to the “A” team to fight alongside Mark McKenzie and Matt Miazga for a starting spot in September.
If the two center-backs combine well, they should limit the threat of Haiti’s best player. Forward Duckens Nazon, who plays in Belgium or Sint-Truiden, will be the most dangerous Haitian player on the field in the tournament.
As long as the USMNT defense remains strong in its containment of Nazon, it should hold a clean sheet and have a chance to win by multiple goals.
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