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The USA are arguably CONCACAF’s most illustrious and giant team, having won the tournament five times since its creation in 1991.
The USA will try to protect their authority in this competition by winning the title for the third consecutive time.
The Yankees are fresh from a remarkable adventure in the Confederations Cup tournament. The CONCACAF proved that losing twice on the trot in the group stages doesn’t mean goodbye.Luck might have played a part in the USA’s wonderful qualification into the finals of the just ended Confederations Cup tournament. Unfortunately, it was also taking away from them in the final match against Brazil.
Clint Dempsey’s early opener and Landon Donovan’s strike had almost put the USA in an neverending wonderland. At half time, they were dominating the South American champions by two goals to nil. But the next forty-five minutes proved to be a nightmare. Maybe lack of concentration was the reason behind the USA’s breakdown; maybe the Brazilians’ strength in dept was the cause to the Yankees’ loss. Whatever, three second half goals from Fabiano and Lucio saw the Americans’ dream sink in a pool of tears.
Either way, Bob Bradley’s men can boast about a second place finish in the Confederations Cup tournament. Their surprising and brave performance on the international stage has also boosted their status as a footballing nation. There is no doubt that the USA’s participation in the Confederations Cup surely brought them some much needed confidence and pride. But the question remains: how well will the United States of America use this psychological and experimental advantage?
An opening game against ‘smallish’ Grenada could prove very tricky. But then, it is clear that Bob Bradley’s men will seek to correct their mistakes and put behind them the disappointment of losing the Confederations Cup trophy to Brazil.
Small Grenada to play the smart mouse?
Grenada is the smallest ever country to qualify to the Gold Cup tournament. This island of 132-square-mile counts less than one million inhabitants, meaning that St. Vincent & the Grenadines now come second behind Grenada as the smallest nation in a Gold Cup tournament.
Grenada qualified for the group stages of this Gold Cup tournament as finalists of the Caribbean Cup. The Spice Boyz defeated Cuba on penalties in the semifinals of that competition before losing 2-0 to Jamaica in the final.
