For the second time in 21 days, the USA and Canada will meet on the international stage, this time in the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup at TQL Stadium on Sunday.
The Yanks topped their group with a convincing 6-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago, while the Canucks got past Cuba 4-2 to advance into the last eight.
Match preview
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After an underwhelming opening draw versus Jamaica (1-1), the Americans looked unstoppable in their final two group fixtures, defeating both Saint Kitts and Nevis, along with the Soca Warriors, by a 6-0 score.
For the 16th time in 17 editions of this competition, the USA finished first in their group, while their previous two triumphs marked the first time in the history of this program that an American team had scored five or more goals in back-to-back competitive fixtures.
They will enter this encounter having lost just one of their previous 22 Gold Cup encounters, with the US advancing beyond the quarter-finals in their last 11 appearances since losing on penalties to Colombia in 2000.
The Americans are undefeated in their five matches played under interim manager BJ Callaghan, outscoring their opponents 18-1 over that stretch, while also successfully defending their CONCACAF Nations League title.
One more defeat, though, would spell the end for Callaghan, as he will turn things over to Gregg Berhalter when this tournament concludes.
With a 2-0 victory over Canada in the Nations League final last month, the Yanks are now unbeaten against the Canucks on American soil in 22 successive matches.
A well-rounded attack played a big part in their previous two victories, but a well-organised defensive unit has enabled them to make deep runs at this tournament in the past, as the US did not concede a single goal in their three Gold Cup knockout fixtures two years ago.
Since losing 2-1 in a friendly versus Serbia at the beginning of 2023, the USA have won six straight matches in all competitions when scoring the opening goal and have only conceded once over that stretch.
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Les Rouges were far from impressive in the group phase of the Gold Cup, but in the end, they did enough to get by, advancing into the last eight of this competition for the fourth successive time.
As expected, John Herdman saw his team carry the play through much of their encounter against Cuba, with 62% possession and nine shots on target as the man who led the Canadian women to a pair of Olympic bronze medals tied Stephen Hart and Holger Osieck for the most Gold Cup victories (six) as the men's head coach.
Their four goals scored versus the Cubans were as many as this team had managed in their four previous matches combined in all competitions, while their five points earned in the opening round this year were the fewest that the Canucks had accumulated in the group stage of this competition since 2017 (five).
While they have defeated the Yanks on back-to-back occasions at home, it has been ages since this team were able to beat them in the United States, when the Canucks scored three times in the opening 25 minutes and held on for a 3-2 win in a 1957 match played at the Public School Grounds in St Louis.
In 2021, Canada made the semi-finals of this tournament for the first time since 2007, blanking Costa Rica 2-0, a first quarter-final shutout at the Gold Cup since getting past Guatemala 3-0 in 07.
The Canucks have lost all five of their encounters against the US in this competition, failing to score in four of those games, though they came close to upsetting them a couple of times in the knockout stage, losing on penalties in the 2002 semi-finals and falling to the Americans at that same stage five years later (2-1) when an equalising goal by Atiba Hutchinson was controversially called offside.
Not since the 2002 quarter-finals have the Canadians gone on to win a knockout stage affair in this competition after conceding the opening goal, coming back to beat Martinique in a penalty shootout that year.
Before their Gold Cup campaign began, Canada had only conceded once in the final 45 minutes of a match this year, but half of their goals allowed in the group stage of this competition have occurred in the 89th minute or later.
Team News
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Alan Sonora has been taken out of the American roster after being diagnosed with a right hamstring strain, with Jackson Yueill being added to the team in his place, while Aidan Morris has been given permission to leave for personal reasons and Miles Robinson made his first international appearance since their CONCACAF Nations League victory over Mexico (3-0) earlier this year.
Last Sunday, Jesus Ferreira, who is currently the top goalscorer at this tournament (six goals), became the first US player to record a hat-trick in consecutive matches, Cade Cowell is only the fifth teenager to notch a goal and an assist in one game for the Yanks, Brandon Vazquez scored beyond the 90th minute for the second time in this competition, Gianluca Busio netted his first for the national team, while Matt Turner picked up his 20th victory and shutout in only 30 appearances, becoming the fastest American goalkeeper in the history of this program to reach those milestones.
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Julian Gressel registered his second career assist for the Yanks last weekend in just his fourth appearance, DeJuan Jones had his first assist with the national team, James Sands has featured in each of the previous nine US matches at this tournament, Cristian Roldan started for the first time since December 2021 and Jalen Neal became only the second American centre-back under the age of 20 to start consecutive games for this team in official competition.
Dayne St. Clair picked up just his third cap for Canada on Tuesday, replacing the injured Milan Borjan in goal, Victor Loturi made his international debut, coming on as a second-half substitute versus Cuba, leaving Tom McGill as the only Canuck selected for this tournament without an international appearance.
With a 21st-minute penalty converted in their previous encounter, Junior Hoilett became the first player in Canadian men's history to score in four different Gold Cups, while his six career goals in this competition are tied with Dwayne De Rosario, Lucas Cavallini, Jonathan David and Ali Gerba for the most all-time with Les Rouges.
Liam Millar netted his first in Canadian colours versus Cuba, Jayden Nelson picked up his second internationally, Jonathan Osorio notched his ninth and is now just one appearance away from drawing Lyndon Hooper for eighth all-time (currently on 67 caps), while Scott Kennedy saw the field for the first time in this competition, replacing Cavallini for the final 21 minutes plus stoppage time.
USA possible starting lineup:
Turner; Reynolds, Miazga, Neal, Jones; Gressel, Sands, Mihailovic; Cowell, Ferreira, Zendejas
Canada possible starting lineup:
St. Clair; Laryea, Vitoria, Miller, Ahmed; Osorio, Fraser; Bombito, Millar, Hoilett; Cavallini
We say: USA 3-0 Canada
The Americans had no trouble getting through to the quarter-finals and have shown they are a force to be reckoned with, while possessing tons of attacking depth, perhaps more than anyone at the 2023 Gold Cup.
Not only has it been forever since the Canucks have beaten the Yanks in the US, but this team, in general, look uncomfortable, have shown little cohesion and have been shaky at the back, none of which are encouraging signs heading into an elimination clash.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joel Lefevre
USA
Jamaica
Saint Kitts
Mexico
Qatar
Honduras
Panama
Costa Rica
Canada
Cuba
