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Team USA will take on Jamaica in the first semifinal of the Gold Cup, held in United States.
USA wasn`t particularly impressive in this tournament, despite results being generally good – 7 points in the group stage and a 6-0 destruction of Cuba in the quarters. However, the broken down Cuba was obviously not a serious opponent, while in the groups USA scored just 4 goals and played close matches with mediocre opponents like Panama, Haiti and a decimated Honduras. Obviously USA wasn’t bad, but we`re talking in relation to the expectations and the home court advantage. USA’s offense has relied almost exclusively on Clint Dempsey. They struggled to create chances, but Clint always got them out of trouble, scoring 60% of their goals so far.
There were questions about Jamaica’s fitness as they came into the Gold Cup straight after Copa America, but the Raggae Boyz showed they are more than up for the challenge. Jamaica drew with Costa Rica in the first game and than won 3 out of 3 against El Salvador, Canada and Haiti: each time 1-0. This is arguably the best defensive side in this tournament and we saw their excellent ability at the back even in the Copa America, where Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay barely scored 1 goal against them. They have a great organization but also top quality talent in defense with Premier League imports like Morgan or Mariappa.
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Team news & lineups:
Jurgen Klinsmann sent Jozy Altidore home after the group stage and is likely to rotate the squad a bit today, as he has done so for the whole tournament. Jamaica gets some players back and will be healthier than in the quarterfinal against Haiti.
USA: Guzan – Johnson, Brooks, Alvarado, Beasley – Zardes, Beckerman, Bradley, Bedoya – Johannsson, Dempsey
Jamaica: Thompson – Mariappa, Morgan, Hector, Lawrence – McCleary, Austin, Watson, McAnuff – Barnes, Mattocks
It`s hard to believe we will see too many goals here. Jamaica is defending extremely well and they will obviously focus on keeping a clean sheet today and playing well tactically. USA has suffered in offense, so it`s expected that they will have big problems in breaking down the Raggae Boyz.
Look for the United States to hold the ball and patiently build attacks, waiting for open spaces to arise. If Dempsey doesn`t get them out of trouble again, I wouldn`t be surprised if team USA gets draged all the way to extra time or penalties. My tip is under 2,5 goals. The odds are excellent and are dropping pretty fast, I would price the under at around 1.60 at most. Prediction: USA – Jamaica 0-0 (1-0 extra time).
United States – Jamaica Gold Cup live streaming available for players at Bet365.com.
Pick: under 2,5 goals
Odds: 1.74 @ Unibet
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 6.66
Event date: 22 July
