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Preview: USMNT Gold Cup Campaign starts with Haiti

USMNT Gold Cup

KANSAS CITY-  The USMNT kicks off their 2021 Gold Cup Campaign against Haiti on Sunday, July 11th.

USMNT Gold Cup Campaign Begins with Haiti

This USMNT squad is not necessarily full strength, but the roster they’ve brought has a bit of strong established MLS players along with young players who are breaking into the player pool.

Haiti were semi-finalists in the 2019 edition of this tournament, losing to Mexico on a dubious penalty kick call. While they were already in the United States at the time, it is certainly unclear what, if any effect the assassination of Haiti’s President this week will have on the squad.

Who to watch for

For the USMNT, it’s going to be hard to ignore Gianluca Busio, especially considering the USMNT are playing the entire group stage at his home stadium. The 19-year-old is on the cusp of a move to Europe and will be making his debut with the USMNT this week. Berhalter has been playing him as an 8 or a 6 and had high praise for his integration into the squad so far. Another one to keep an eye on is Darryl Dike. While Gyasi Zardes is certainly the first-choice striker on this roster, Dike has big European aspirations himself. He’s physical yet technical and there is a good chance he shines in a match like this.

For Haiti, Duckens Nazon is a name that most will know. Longtime one of the best strikers for not just Haiti, but all of CONCACAF, Nazon will certainly feature for Haiti. But without a doubt, Frandtzy Pierrot will be the talisman that the USMNT will need to keep an eye on. Calling the Ligue 2 home in France, Pierrot scored four goals in the two qualifying matches for Haiti.

Predictions

The USMNT *should* be able to dispatch of Haiti pretty easily. They have a very experienced group of players, that in theory should be able to get the job done. However, Haiti are not a team to turn their nose up against and as we have seen from past iterations of USMNT squads, they don’t always make easy work of the teams the “should.” I think they get the job done, but it might be tight. A 1-0 or 2-0 win seems on the order.

 

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