Once again, the U.S. national team hopes to activate its fight-or-flight response.
The U.S. men didn’t play their best in the first round of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, losing a group stage match (2-1 to Panama) for the first time and barely securing a second-place finish in Group C with an underwhelming 1-0 win over Caribbean minnow Guadeloupe.
They also would prefer to think those results won’t matter when they face eager Jamaica in a quarterfinal where only one team will survive and advance.
“I think with this team, this particular group, we’ve always been resilient,” U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard said. “We’ve always kind of battled, in the best of times and when times haven’t been tremendous. One of the things we’ve talked about, and I really enjoy, is I think there’s a lot more pressure now, but there’s a finality to it. I think that’s crucial.”
| Gold Cup quarterfinals |
| U.S. vs. Jamaica |
| Where » RFK Stadium |
| When » Sunday, 3 p.m. |
| TV » Fox Soccer |
The U.S. has never lost to Jamaica (9-0-8) and hasn’t lost at RFK Stadium since a 3-2 defeat to Honduras in 2001, but Sunday’s atmosphere could be eerily similar to that infamous away match on home soil 10 years ago. Much of this weekend’s anticipated capacity crowd will be on hand to support either the Jamaicans — who claimed a large share of the 51,528 at RFK who watched the U.S. and Jamaica draw, 1-1, in a 1997 World Cup qualifier — or El Salvador, which will face Panama in the second match of the afternoon’s doubleheader.
Meanwhile, the contribution of U.S. midfielders Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey could be affected by their arrival in Washington late Saturday after attending the weddings of their respective sisters in California and Texas. Both have been away from the team since Wednesday.
“They’re two really important players on our team,” U.S. defender and team captain Carlos Bocanegra said. “In an ideal situation, if they were here, it would be great. They’re professionals. We’re all professionals. We’re preparing the same way with them or without them, and come Sunday, we’re all going to be ready to go in the same direction.”
The fast, athletic Reggae Boyz, whose roster includes the Los Angeles Galaxy’s Donovan Ricketts, the reigning MLS goalkeeper of the year, weren’t scored upon in the opening round. That puts added pressure on a U.S. squad that spent much of Thursday and Friday working on finishing.
“We make it hard on ourselves,” said U.S. forward Jozy Altidore, who owns two of the four U.S. goals scored in the Gold Cup. “It’s just more important that you start well.”
To suggest that both Donovan and Dempsey could do so without training could be regarded as a slight to a regional championship that, despite offering the winner a spot in the 2013 Confederations Cup, has taken on the perception of much lesser bi-annual prize than the FIFA grand finale every four years.
“The World Cup is on a way bigger stage and a way bigger level,” Bocanegra said. “But this is still a big tournament for us, and we have a chance to lift the trophy. We were talking about this the other day. It’s an amazing feeling and that’s our goal.”
