Juergen Klinsmann says the US will have to defend their Gold Cup crown the hard way when the tournament kicks off today with the region’s governing body still reeling from the FIFA corruption scandal.
The US, riding high after a thrilling FIFA World Cup finals campaign last year and recent international friendly wins over Germany and the Netherlands, start as favorites for the biennial tournament, but Klinsmann has warned his players to expect a rough ride from opponents who are likely to defend in numbers, in contrast to the World Cup, where opponents were more adventurous against a US side regarded as underdogs.
“We are under the expectations of winning this tournament,” Klinsmann said. “Even if we know that teams like Honduras, Costa Rica and Mexico all are very good teams and can also beat us, you’ve got to be on top of things.”
“It’s not going to be an open game like in a World Cup where you have the best teams in the world and they just go at you. In most of our games in the Gold Cup it’s going to be the opposite,” he said. “They’re going to defend first of all and then hope for a counter break or for a set-piece to score against us.”
Klinsmann has named a strong squad for the tournament, drawing heavily on veterans of the World Cup finals in Brazil as he aims to forge a winning mentality.
The US open their campaign against Group A opponents Honduras in Dallas today, with 2013 runners-up Panama playing Haiti in the day’s other match, which is being played at the same venue as part of a double-header.
The biggest threat to US hopes is likely to emerge from traditional powerhouses Mexico and Costa Rica, two teams who also advanced to the knockout stages of the World Cup finals last year.
Costa Rica, who stunned Italy and Uruguay in Brazil before losing on penalties to the Netherlands in the last eight, are in Group B with El Salvador, Canada and Jamaica.
Coach Paulo Wanchope admitted that Los Ticos’ stunning World Cup performances had increased expectations on his side.
“It will be a big challenge for us,” Wanchope said. “Everyone will now expect Costa Rica to play great football and win against any team.”
Meanwhile, Mexico coach Miguel Herrera has challenged his players to atone for their dismal first-round exit at the Copa America by wresting back the Gold Cup, which they have dominated since its inception in 1991.
“We have to accept the failure of the Copa America and go to the Gold Cup with the belief that we are going to win it,” said Herrera, whose side face Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba in Group C.
Mexico’s preparations were dealt a hammer blow last week when Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez suffered a fractured collarbone which ruled him out of the tournament.
However, Herrera’s attacking options have been strengthened by the return from self-imposed exile of Real Sociedad striker Carlos Vela, back in the fold after a three-year spat with Mexican soccer chiefs.
While the identity of the side who will ultimately lift the title in Philadelphia on July 26 is anyone’s guess, there is also uncertainty about who will present the trophy for CONCACAF, the regions governing body which has been rocked by the US investigation into corruption at FIFA.
CONCACAF president Jefrrey Webb might normally be expected to do the honors,-but he is currently languishing in a prison cell in Switzerland fighting extradition to the US after being arrested in Zurich on May 27.
Influential Costa Rican official Eduardo Li, who had been due to be elected to FIFA’s executive committee, was also arrested during the swoop in Switzerland, which later widened to include a raid on CONCACAF’s offices in Miami.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
RSS