Before returning to their club sometime this month, Sounders FC veterans Clint Dempsey and Brad Evans are on a mission to help the U.S. National Team defend its CONCACAF Gold Cup title.
Thanks to a stellar performance in the group stage, the USA is just three victories from capturing the trophy that honors the best of the Caribbean, North and Central American nations. The team is in Baltimore for its quarterfinal against Cuba, which is scheduled to kick off at 2:00 p.m. PT on Saturday with national television coverage on FOX and Univision.
Dempsey and Evans were both instrumental in the USMNT finishing atop Group A. Evans logged 117 minutes at right back – including one start – while Dempsey scored or assisted on all four of the USA’s goals in group play. Dempsey’s three goals put him in a tie with Mexico’s Oribe Peralta for the most of any player in the tournament.
With just one more goal, Dempsey would match Eric Wynalda for second on the USA’s all-time Gold Cup scoring list with nine career goals in the competition.
The Americans are heavily favored in Saturday’s match, as Cuba is currently at 104th in the FIFA World Rankings while the USA is 34th. Cuba was one of the two third-place teams to advance, earning a spot in the knockout round by winning 1-0 over Guatemala on Wednesday.
Cuba has lost nine of its last 11 Gold Cup games, including a 6-0 defeat to Mexico in its opener of this year’s competition. The Caribbean nation is just 3-18-2 in its tournament history.
The USA is 8-1-1 all-time against Cuba and 5-0-0 in Gold Cup play. With another victory on Saturday, the Americans would clinch a spot in next Wednesday’s semifinal versus either Haiti or Jamaica.
