BY JAMES ROSS – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
The final CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal will feature the USA vs. El Salvador on Sunday. The USA should head into this game as comfortable favourites to triumph over El Salvador , but Salvadorian head coach Agustin Castillo should have reason to believe they can beat the home nation favourites and perhaps elicit an upset from his side.
The USA have looked like the best team of this tournament thus far, but I am unconvinced they are a lock to beat El Salvador in this match.
They struggled to overcome Costa Rica, were flat our poor in the first half against Cuba, and beating Belize is hardly an achievement for a team like the USA. I think this team will need to raise their game if they don’t wish to have the tournament become an embarrassing memory. They had better take El Salvador very seriously.
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Star player Landon Donovan has looked very good as he has rejoined the USA program, and that bodes well for the host nation. His superb ball to Brek Shea for the winner against Costa Rica was an indication of what he can bring to the table. I have my reservations about the strength of the backline. While they haven’t looked poor, they haven’t looked terribly authoritative either. Conceding to both Belize and Cuba has to be questioned.
Their performance was much tighter against Costa Rica, but a great save from second choice keeper Sean Johnson directly before Shea popped the winner in the Costa Rica match shows how narrow a margin of victory that game was and, fate being a bit different, they may have entered this match under a bit of a black cloud. Still, they have undeniable quality in all areas, and coach Jurgen Klinsmann should be able to rally this side to victory over the Salvadorians.
El Salvador have had a solid tournament, and if not for the injury time goal that Honduras managed in their second match, they have, for me, been the most impressive team to come out of a very tough group. I many ways I see this side as the best coached in the tournament. They are very well organized, and possess strong team conception.
Up front, tricky Rodolfo Zelaya is capable of pulling something out of virtually nothing at any point in time, and if the American defence shows lapses like they did versus Cuba and Belize, a bewildering exit could be on the cards for the Americans. El Salvador’s formation easily allows them a nine man behind the ball conception, and American players like Landon Donovan will need to be razor sharp to break their defensive amalgam down.
I expect a 2-1 USA victory but this game promises to be a nervy affair for the American hosts.
I’ve quite enjoyed the tournament so far, and I believe the standard of play in CONCACAF has become much stronger than it was even a decade past. Hope you enjoy the matches, and I’ll be back with the semi-final previews after this weekend’s matches are concluded.