It wasn’t always a pretty Group Stage from the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) in the Gold Cup but at the end of the day, it’s a results-oriented business and the U.S. topped the group by winning all three games. A dull 1-0 win over Haiti was followed by a 6-1 thrashing of Martinique. The Group Stage finale got off to a dream start as Shaq Moore put the U.S. up 1-0 against Canada after just 20 seconds, but after that neither side created much in the way of quality scoring chances and the U.S. was able to see the game out. Now it’s time for the knockout rounds and a quarterfinal date against Jamaica.

In the two editions of the Gold Cup where he has been in charge of the U.S., Gregg Berhalter has done exceptionally well in the Group Stage: played six games, won six games, scored 19 goals, and only conceded once. But two years ago in the Gold Cup quarterfinals, the U.S. turned in one of it’s worst performances under Berhalter as the U.S. was in a life and death struggle with tiny Curacao and was barely able to survive to earn a 1-0 win, despite being out-possessed and out-shot on the night. That not-so-distant memory leaves many U.S. fans hoping that the team is much better prepared for Sunday’s game against Jamaica.

Jamaica’s road to the Gold Cup quarterfinals was a surprisingly smooth one. They locked up their spot in the tournament back in November of 2019 by winning the Nations League Group B, breezing past the likes of Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, and Aruba. In fact, they went unbeaten during that qualifying stretch posting six wins and one draw. So far at this tournament it’s been a slightly tougher go of it. They won their Group C opener 2-0 against Suriname but then fell behind quickly in their next game against Guadeloupe. However they equalized quickly after going down and found a late winner through Junior Flemmings. But in the deciding match of the group, they fell 1-0 to Costa Rica. The headliners for the Reggae Boyz are Andre Blake of the Philadelphia Union in goal, Adrian Mariappa and Kemar Lawrence on the back line, Devon Williams in the midfield, and up front the man to watch is Shamar Nicholson of Charleroi in Belgium with 8 goals in 21 caps to lead all Jamaicans on the roster.

Notes:
1. This is the third USMNT appearance at A&T Stadium in Arlington, the first two being in 2013 and 2017 respectively. All three have been for Gold Cup knockout round games.
2. Walker Zimmerman has been forced out of the squad due to an injury he picked up in the first half against Canada.

When and where to watch the game on TV
Sunday, July 25, 2021
AT&T Stadium
Arlington, Texas
10pm ET
Live on FS1, TUDN, Univision and fuboTV

All-Time Series
USA leads 16-3-8

Last Meeting
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Stadion Wiener Neustadt
Wiener Neustadt, Austria
USA 4-1 Jamaica

Current FIFA Ranking
USA: 20
Jamaica: 45

Next Game
TBD