2019 Concacaf Gold Cup — Group Stage
United States vs. Trinidad & Tobago
FirstEnergy Stadium — Cleveland
June 22 — 8:00 PM ET
TV: FS1, Univision, UDN, TSN5
STREAMING: FOX Sports GO
For the first time since a stunning defeat in Trinidad that eliminated the US men's national team from qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup the USMNT meet the Soca Warriors in both teams' second Group D match Saturday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.
It's not just a chance at revenge for Gregg Berhalter's side, which opened the Gold Cup with a 4-0 win over Guyana Tuesday night at Allianz Field. The defending Gold Cup champions would also clinch a berth in the quarterfinals with a win and eliminate Trinidad and Tobago, which fell to Panama, 2-0, in their Gold Cup opener.
United States
The first competitive match of the Berhalter era was a win, but it's up for debate on how impressive that victory was.
It was a good night for D.C. United's Paul Arriola, who opened the scoring in the 28th minute, as well as for Tyler Boyd, who struck for a second-half brace in his second USMNT appearance. Gyasi Zardes also scored, though he didn't know much about a goal that deflected in off his face.
As for the "revenge" storyline, Michael Bradley poured some cold water on the narrative.
"Totally different team,” Bradley said. “There’s like two or three guys here who were in Trinidad. So I’m not sure other than it being a nice narrative for you guys, I’m not sure inside of the group if it carries a whole lot of weight.”
Trinidad & Tobago
Panama broke through for a pair of second-half goals by former Toronto FC midfielder Armando Cooper and Edgar Barcenas to defeat Trinidad & Tobago in the opening match of Group D Tuesday at Allianz Field.
It was the sixth straight game the Soca Warriors failed to score in a loss, one that puts their backs against the wall in the Gold Cup.
“We’ve got ourselves in a bit of a hole which now means we need to start thinking about getting two wins from the two next games,” said Trinidad coach Dennis Lawrence. “That’s international football. If you don’t take your chances and you give away sloppy possession, Panama’s got quality players that can do that to you. So we need to recover very quickly, pull away from all the negatives and go into the next game.”
Series Matchup
- United States: 3 wins, 7 goals
- Trinidad & Tobago: 0 wins, 3 goals
Officials
- Referee: Martinez, Hector Said (HON)
- Assistant Referees: Lopez Ramos, Walter Enrique (HON), Feliz, Helpys Raymundo (DOM)
- 4th Official: Cornejo Melendez, Ismael Alexander (SLV)
