One of the favorites for the tournament, the United States was humbled by Panama and now must win on Tuesday in its Group C clash with Guadeloupe. I doubt many could have seen a defeat coming for the Americans in their group.
To kick things off in the
Gold Cup, USA picked up a relatively comfortable 2-0 win in its first game in the group, beating bordering Canada 2-0 thanks to goals from Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore.
But then the stunner came as Panama shocked the Americans at Raymond James Stadium in Florida.
Down 2-0 at half-time, Bob Bradley's team desperately tried to get back in the game, managing to score in the 67th minute, but the Panamanians were able to hold on to secure a monumental win.
To their relief, the Americans will take to the field against the weakest team in the group in Guadeloupe tonight.
The Guadeloupeans have lost both of their group matches so far, dropping their opener 2-3 to Panama and then 0-1 to Canada this past weekend.
Red cards have been a big problem, with Guadeloupe having gone down to 10 men in both defeats. Maintaining that necessary discipline will be key in hanging around with the United States.
A performance of a lifetime on all fronts will need to happen if the underdogs are to pull off another surprising result against a US team that is itching to right its wrongs.
Do-or-die for USAIt should come as no surprise that the Americans are the massive favorites in the
soccer odds for this final group match.
USA is at a staggering -1400 at
Bodog to win the game, with the Guadeloupeans at +2200 to compound the Americans' misery. A draw would net you +800.
Clearly there is no value in a bet on the United States in this spot, so if you are
soccer betting on this match then you'd probably be better off looking at a handicap play on the hosts instead.
Dempsey and Altidore both have plenty of experience playing in Europe and have proven themselves to be important characters on the international stage as well.
And with a healthy Landon Donovan (two assists already in the tournament) and Michael Bradley making everything click in the middle of the park, there's little question that the Americans have the quality within their ranks to challenge for the gold.
Moreover, Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City should be rocking, especially given the circumstances as the the loyal USA faithful cheer on their team in hopes of advancing to the elimination stages.
Guadeloupe may have been competitive in its first two encounters of the tournament, but ultimately I believe the Americans have the firepower to outlast their opponents and secure advancement.
So long as the US comes out in the right frame of mind from the get-go, expect a resounding win. But as we've learned, nothing is a sure thing anymore when it comes to international soccer. Also it looks like there could be
severe weather that could affect the game, so pay attention to the forecasts.
Let's hope captain Landon Donovan and his comrades have learned their lesson and take care of business on Tuesday. I'm banking on them doing just that.
FREE Pick: USA 3 Guadeloupe 0