USMNT draws Jamaica in first CONCACAF Gold Cup match

The Gold Cup is kicking off as the United States men's national team faces a new look Jamaica squad. Despite Gregg Berhalter's return as manager of the United States, B.J. Callaghan will oversee one more tournament after taking over as interim manager before Berhalter was rehired. After already leading the team to a Concacaf Nations League title, Callaghan will now lead a mostly domestic roster in Gold Cup play. 

The U.S., playing with a heavily rotated B and C team, went down in the first half but equalized in the closing stages to make it 1-1 at the final whistle.

Damion Lowe opened the scoring for Jamaica in the 13th minute off a corner kick. Leon Bailey of the Premier League's Aston Villa delivered in an in-swinging cross, with Lowe being played onside by Matt Miazga. The header gave Arsenal's goalkeeper Matt Turner no chance.

The Gold Cup is a biennial tournament for national teams in the North and Central American and Caribbean region associated with Concacaf. Mexico (eight times), the U.S. (seven times) and Canada (one time) are the only nations to have won the Gold Cup.

Vazquez’s goal salvaged a 1-1 draw and what would have been just the second time ever that the U.S. lost in the Gold Cup group stage. (The first and only time was in 2011 to Panama.) The draw leaves the U.S. in fine position to advance out of the group stage, as the top two teams from each group advance to the knockouts and the U.S. will be favored in their next two games against Saint Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago. After tonight’s draw, goal differential will likely factor into seeding, so the U.S. will need to bag as many goals as possible on Wednesday night against a Saint Kitts and Nevis team against whom they are heavy favorites. — Tenorio

Jamaica: A talented team, the Reggae Boyz need to put everything together, because this is a must win match to advance out of Group A. These two teams met in the 2017 final, where Morris powered the United States to victory and will look to do it again. Jamaica has never won the Gold Cup, but this may be the most talented team that they have assembled. 

With seven players hailing from Premier League teams, Jamaica has tapped into dual national recruitment but they've yet to make it show on the pitch yet. The attack could give the United States trouble with Michail Antonio, Leon Bailey and Demarai Gray all to keep an eye on but defense is where the team unravels. After Andre Blake and Ethan Pinnock, Jamaica's defenders haven't been able to show up when needed and they can't afford to give the United States space even with the team's lack of experience.

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Sarah H

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