While the Gold Cup is a tricky tournament taking place in the heat of summer just when Europe-based US players need a break, a 1-1 draw against Jamaica on Saturday showed just how tough it is to win concacaf. Damion Lowe’s goal was canceled out by Brandon Vazquez coming on the bench but depending on the goals scored further down the line it could be enough to see Jamaica win Group A. The United States still has time to recover, but with the Gold Cup a proving ground, who has improved their stock or possibly hurt their chances?
With the USMNT improving with the addition of Folarin Balogun, spots on the starting lineup are few and far between, so good performances can go a long way in this tournament. Here’s our latest stock watch:
Stock down: Jesus Ferreira as a striker
It’s not that Ferreira had a bad game as he created chances USMNT players couldn’t take, but putting him into play without a clear goalscorer must not continue. With the national team, Ferrerira has become more of a support forward or a number 10 behind someone like Vazquez to make room for others to score. Although Ferreira can shoot, he’s better at creating space for others than scoring his own goals. With the addition of Balogun to the squad, it was one of the biggest breaths of fresh air for strikers to create their own margins. He can twist and contort his body to fire shots in a way other forwards can’t.
Padding: Brandon Vazquez
Speaking of strikers, the ability to be in the right place at the right time is crucial and that’s exactly what Vazquez did to score his goal. After scoring his second goal for the USMNT, it seems like the forward pecking order is becoming clear. The group of four consists of Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Josh Sargent and Vazquez. Vazquez scores goals with ease and has a more fitted profile than some of the other forwards in the group. If he continues his form both at club and country, it could become quite difficult for another striker to break through above them.
Floor down: Alan Sonora
Right place, wrong result was the story of Sonora’s evening as his positional sense was good but he was unable to take advantage of Jamaica’s aggressive defense to make a difference. Sonora’s experience with the national team has been sporadic and it’s hard to interpret too much from it, but with Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson and others ahead of him in the pecking order, Sonora needs to improve to remain in the senior team.
Stocking up: Djordje Mihailovic
The game changed with the introduction of three players – Vazquez, who was mentioned, Cristian Roldan, who has a fairly settled role as a tweener in the national team, and Mihailovic, whose star is rising by the day. Mihailovic is close to being included in the World Cup squad. He has had an excellent season at AZ Alkmaar and is a versatile midfielder who can create and take chances as well. As the midfield evolves towards more flexibility, there’s a lot to be gained from Mihailovic as his influence will only continue to grow.
Stock up: Jalen Neal
Neal, a young defender, had a difficult task dealing with Michail Antonio at half-time and he did quite well. Jamaica’s attacking threat from the first half against Matt Miazga and Aaron Long was almost neutralized in the second half, in which the Reggae Boyz fired just one shot. Some of this was due to adjustments made by BJ Callaghan, but much of it was due to Neal’s mobility. Even if Antonio had the ball in the air the defense stayed with him and a deep centre-back only gets deeper when a 19-year-old can come off the bench and keep up with a Premier League striker.