USMNT vs. Trinidad and Tobago: Top Storylines and Predictions for 2023 Gold Cup
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The United States men’s national team needs a second straight offensive outburst to hold on to first place in Group A of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.
The Americans enter Sunday’s match against Trinidad and Tobago with a three-goal advantage in goal differential over Jamaica in Group A.
A multi-goal victory inside Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte is the best case scenario for the USMNT. Jamaica plays Saint Kitts and Nevis at the same time on Sunday. The USMNT put up six goals on Saint Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday.
Trinidad and Tobago could be a tough foe for the Americans since it still has a chance to advance to the knockout stage in either first or second place.
The Soca Warriors have three points by way of their win over Saint Kitts and Nevis, but they need to play much better compared to their 4-1 defeat to Jamaica.
USMNT interim manager B.J. Callaghan will likely mix up parts of his squad yet again, and he needs to strike the perfect balance in the starting XI to win the group and preserve some players for the knockout round.
USMNT Aiming for 1st Place in Group A
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The Americans put themselves in ideal position to clinch first place in Group A on Sunday night.
Wednesday’s six-goal outburst put them three goals ahead of Jamaica on goal differential, which is the first tiebreaker used to determined the group winner.
The USMNT needs to pile on more goals against T&T, and that seems likely given the Soca Warriors’ result against Jamaica.
The good news for the Americans is they blew out T&T in their last two meetings, one in the 2019 Gold Cup and the other in a friendly in 2021. The USMNT won those contests by a combined 13-0.
Another six-goal outing in front of goal, or at least a multi-goal night, would put the pressure on Jamaica to score in bunches against Saint Kitts and Nevis to be competitive for first place in Group A.
The Group A winner would likely avoid Canada and Mexico until the championship match, while the Group A runner-up may face Canada in the quarterfinals and El Tri in the semifinals.
How B.J. Callaghan Manages Lineup Rotation
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Only four USMNT players started both group-stage games.
Callaghan mixed in the rotation from the Jamaica contest to the win over Saint Kitts and Nevis due to the drop off in quality of opponent.
The interim boss has to strike the right balance within his starting lineup of players who thrived against a weaker opponent and those who are more battle-tested to produce a multi-goal win with a clean sheet.
That should lead to Aaron Long and Matt Miazga returning to their starting center-back roles, and Matt Turner will likely be back at goalkeeper.
Jesus Ferreira started both Group A matches at forward and Brandon Vazquez came off the bench in each game.
Callaghan could ride the hot hand in Ferreira, who scored a hat-trick on Wednesday, or let Vazquez take his turn in the starting role.
With multiple goals in mind, Callaghan could turn to Cade Cowell, Djordje Mihailovic and Alejandro Zendejas again to create chances against a susceptible T&T defense.
If the Americans control the possession battle, as expected, it would be wise to have a few of those wingers and attacking midfielders on the pitch to boost the goal differential.
Prediction
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United States 4, Trinidad and Tobago 0
The real question for Sunday’s match is how many goals the USMNT will win by.
Trinidad and Tobago was outclassed by Jamaica in its last Group A contest, and a higher gap in quality will be on display in Charlotte.
The USMNT needs to approach Sunday’s match with the same mindset as Wednesday’s win over Saint Kitts and Nevis in which it found the back of the net three times in the first 20 minutes.
A four-goal victory should keep the Americans in first place, no matter what Jamaica does against Saint Kitts and Nevis.
A win, and first place that could come with it, would place the USMNT in Cincinnati on July 9 against the Group D runner-up.
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