Getty Omar Gonzalez is one of a handful of USA defenders who could be called up Wednesday night.
For the first time in Gold Cup history, Jamaica is in back-to-back finals. The Reggae Boyz defeated USA in the 2015 semifinal, and defeated Mexico on Sunday to advance to this year’s final in Santa Clara.
Can the Americans topple the unstoppable Reggae Boyz?
To do so, they’ll need to figure out Jamaica keeper Andre Blake. The starter for the Philadelphia Union has been on fire throughout this tournament, but was at his best against Mexico. Blake made a pair of diving saves in the opening minutes, as manager Theodore Whitmore built his tactics around Blake. The speedy Jamaicans thrived on the counter, equalling Mexico in shots on goal despite controlling just over 30 percent of possession.
It’s not certain if Whitmore will employ the same tactics against USMNT, but the Americans will still have to solve Blake. The Americans are stronger up top with Dempsey and Altidore, but have had shaky moments at the back. Jamaica will take full advantage of mistakes, and has the speed to punish lazy defending.
These teams met for a friendly in February; a 1-0 win for the Americans. USA is still unbeaten since making Bruce Arena their latest manager, and that streak can extend to 14 games with a win Wednesday night.
Kickoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. Eastern, and lineups will be posted one hour before kickoff.
Here are the basics:
DATE: Wednesday, July 26, 2017
CHANNEL: Fox Sports 1
KICKOFF TIME: 90:00 p.m. Eastern
LOCATION: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara CA
LIVE STREAM: Click here for all live streaming information
LINEUP
USMNT: Howard, Gonzalez, Besler, Villafaña, Arriola, Zusi, Acosta, Nagbe, Bradley, Morris, Altidore
Jamaica: Blake, Powell, Lowe, Taylor, Lawrence, Gordon, Richie, Fischer, Watson, Mattocks, Williams