Preview: USMNT Takes On Canada In 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinals

HIGH NOTE TO TOP GROUP A

Another standout performance from forward Jesús Ferreira led the USA to a 6-0 win against Trinidad and Tobago in its final match of the group stage on Sunday night before 40,243 fans at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. Ferreira netted a first-half hat trick while forward Cade Cowell, midfielder Gianluca Busio and forward Brandon Vazquez added second-half goals.

The USA’s 6-0 victory matched its highest margin of victory at the Gold Cup for the second time this tournament, following the 6-0 win against St. Kitts and Nevis on Wednesday, June 28. It’s the first time that the U.S. has recorded consecutive wins by six goals or more in official competition. The USMNT’s 13 goals in the group stage are the most it has ever scored in pool play at the tournament, breaking the previous record of 11 set in 2013 and matched in 2019.

FERREIRA ON FIRE

Forward Jesús Ferreira is in the midst of a historic run of form for the USMNT as he became the first player in team history to net hat tricks in back-to-back games with his triples against St. Kitts and Trinidad. His third career hat trick tied him with Landon Donovan for the most in team history with just 21 games played at the senior international level.

Ferreira’s hat trick was also the fourth in team history to come in the opening half, following Brian McBride (Jan. 27, 2002 vs. El Salvador; 9’ 11’, 21’), Chris Wondolowski (July 9, 2013 vs. Belize; 12’, 37’, 41’), Weston McKennie (October 11, 2019 vs. Cuba; 1’, 5’, 13’). Eleven of the FC Dallas forward’s 14 international goals have come in official competition, tying him for 10th on the USMNT scoring list in competitive matches, while his six goals at this year’s Gold Cup have him leading the Golden Boot race.

• READ MORE: BY THE NUMBERS: USMNT Milestones Following the 2023 Gold Cup Group Stage

TURNER MAKES HIS MARK

Matt Turner and the U.S. defense held the Soca Warriors scoreless on Sunday night, making the goalkeeper the fastest in USMNT history to reach 20 shutouts and 20 victories. The feat came in his 30th international cap, besting Kasey Keller who earned his 20^th shutout in his 46^th cap and Tim Howard who earned his 20^th win in his 33^rd cap.

In eight career Gold Cup matches, Turner has allowed just two goals, a USMNT-best 0.24 goals against average among ‘keepers with five appearances in the competition. Overall, Turner’s 0.46 goals against average leads all USMNT goalkeepers among those who have made at least 15 appearances.

FIRST TIME SCORERS

Following Ferreira’s hat trick, forward Cade Cowell and midfielder Gianluca Busio netted their first international goals, each carrying its own significance. Cowell’s goal came just a month after leading the USA with three goals at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina. Out of 15 players to score for the U.S. at the U-20 World Cup and the senior international level, Cowell’s 33 days between goals was the quickest turnaround in USMNT history, followed by 98 days from Michael Bradley’s final goal at the 2007 U-20 World Cup to his first full team goal in an October friendly that same year. Bobby Convey and Tim Weah had already scored their first senior international goals when they represented the USA at the 2003 and 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cups, respectively.

The 19-year-old Cowell also became just the fifth teenager to log a goal and assist in a USMNT match, following Christian Pulisic (three times), Gio Reyna, Landon Donovan and Ricardo Pepi. He’s the 26th teenager to score for the USMNT and 14th to do so in official competition.

Busio’s first international goal came in his home state of North Carolina. The midfielder hails from Greensboro, about 90 minutes from Charlotte, and he became the 14th U.S. player to score his first goal in his birth state. He’s just the third player not from California to score his debut goal in his home state.

UP AND DOWN START FOR CANADA

After drawing its first two matches, Canada won its final group stage game to secure its place in the knockout stage. In the Group D opener vs. Guadeloupe on home turf at Toronto’s BMO Field, the Reds had to rally from an early 1-0 deficit with a goal from forward Lucas Cavallini just after the break and a Guadeloupe own goal in the 70th to go up 2-1, but forward Jacen Russell-Rowe gifted the Gwada Boys an own goal in stoppage time and Canada had to settle for a draw.

Canada and Guatemala played to a scoreless draw in their second group stage match, a game in which the Canadians picked up five yellow cards. Needing a win in the pool play finale vs. Cuba, Canada took a 2-0 first-half lead on a penalty from forward Junior Hoilett and midfielder Jonathan Osorio. Forwards Jayden Nelson and Liam Millar netted in the second, and while Cuba converted two penalties the Reds came out on top 4-2 to secure a runner-up finish in Group D. 

VS. THE NORTHERN NEIGHBOR

Three weeks after topping Canada in the Concacaf Nations League Final, Sunday marks the USA and Canada’s second meeting in knockout competition this summer. The U.S. is 17-10-12 all-time against Les Rouges, with a 4-0-1 mark in the Gold Cup and a 10-8-5 edge in official competition overall.

• READ MORE: Five Things to Know About Canada

The group stage of the inaugural Concacaf Nations League in 2019 lit a spark between the sides as Canada upset the USA 2-0 on Oct. 15, 2019 in Toronto, before the USA returned the favor with a 4-1 win on Nov. 15, 2019 in Orlando to book a place in the 2021 CNL Finals.

After the USA edged Canada 1-0 during the 2021 Gold Cup group stage, John Herdman’s side got the better of the USMNT during 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying, earning a 1-1 away draw on Sept. 5, 2021 in Nashville, before taking a 2-0 win on Jan. 30, 2022 in Hamilton, helping to push Canada to its first World Cup appearance since 1986 where they went 0-3 and finished in fourth place in the group.

ANOTHER QUEEN CITY

The USA returns to TQL Stadium in Cincinnati to face Canada on Sunday, its third visit to the home of FC Cincinnati since the venue opened in spring 2021. TQL played host to the latest Dos a Cero victory against Mexico in November 2021 during qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well as a 3-0 friendly victory in June of 22 against Morocco, the team that finished fourth in Qatar 2022.

TQL Stadium is also home for two members of the 2023 Gold Cup squad: FC Cincinnati defender Matt Miazga and forward Brandon Vazquez, who’s already scored two goals for the USA during the tournament.

Overall, the USA is 3-1-0 in Cincinnati. The USMNT has a proud history in the Buckeye State, recording a 13-3-3 record and an 11-1-2 mark in official competition.

USA ROSTER NOTES

• The U.S. roster will have an average age of 25 years, 108 days on July 9.
• Defender DeJuan Jones collected his first career assist on Jesús Ferreira’s opening goal vs. Trinidad.
• Forward Julian Gressel collected his second assist in just four appearances on Gianluca Busio’s goal.
• Defender Miles Robinson returned from injury against the Soca Warriors, making his first appearance since starting the Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Mexico on June 15 in Las Vegas.
  Nineteen-year-old Jalen Neal became just the second center back under the age of 20 to start back-to-back matches in official competition. Neal joins Mike Windischmann, who was also 19 when he started three consecutive World Cup qualifiers between May 19 and May 31, 1985.
• James Sands made his ninth consecutive appearance in the Concacaf Gold Cup vs. Trinidad. Sands has played in every Gold Cup match dating back to the 2021 tournament opener against Haiti.
• Following the group stage, Jackson Yueill was added to the USMNT roster to replace the injured Alan Soñora who was diagnosed with a right hamstring strain.
• Midfielder Aidan Morris was also given permission to depart camp due to personal reasons.
• Seven players are 24 or younger: Brandon Vazquez (24); James Sands and Jesús Ferreira (22); Aidan Morris (21); John Tolkin (20); Cade Cowell and Jalen Neal (19)
• Goalkeeper Sean Johnson is one of just nine players to make five or more Gold Cup rosters alongside DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan, Frankie Hejduk, Kasey Keller (six rosters each), Michael Bradley, Clint Dempsey, Cobi Jones and Eric Wynalda (five rosters each).
• After earning tournament Best XI honors in 2021, goalkeeper Matt Turner and defender Miles Robinson are among seven returnees from that year’s championship side. They are joined by Gianluca Busio, Sean Johnson, Cristian Roldan, James Sands and Jackson Yueill.
• Turner claimed the Golden Glove as best goalkeeper at the 2021 Gold Cup, earning five clean sheets and conceding only one goal in six matches. Robinson contributed mightily to those five clean sheets, while also adding two goals including the extra time winner in the 1-0 victory against Mexico in the final. 
• Nine players made their USMNT debut earlier this year: Julian Gressel, DeJuan Jones, Aidan Morris, Jalen Neal, Gaga Slonina, Alan Soñora, John Tolkin, Brandon Vazquez and Alex Zendejas.

USA-CANADA

• Sunday marks the 40^th meeting all-time vs. Canada and the 24th in official competition. Les Rouges are the third most frequent opponent in USMNT history, trailing Mexico (73) and Costa Rica (42)
• The U.S. is 17-10-12 all-time vs. Canada, 4-0-1 at the Gold Cup and 10-8-5 in official competition.
• The nations last met in the Concacaf Nations League Final on June 18, a 2-0 triumph for the U.S. as defender Chris Richards and forward Folarin Balogun scored their first international goals. Four players from the U.S. roster return for the Gold Cup.
• The teams faced off twice in World Cup qualifying as Canada earned a 1-1 draw on the road in Nashville, Tenn. during the first international window of the Octagonal in Sept. 2021 and topped the USA 2-0 in Hamilton, Ontario in January 2022.
• In the 2021 Gold Cup, the U.S. took down Canada 1-0 on the fastest goal in tournament history when defender Shaq Moore tallied just 20 seconds into the match.
• U.S. defender DeAndre Yedlin and Canada defender Kamal Miller play alongside each other on the back line at Inter Miami.
• U.S. forward Julian Gressel is teammates with Canada midfielder Ali Ahmed at Vancouver Whitecaps.
• The USA-Canada rivalry dates back to June 27, 1925, a 0-1 loss to the Reds in Montreal.
• CAUTION WATCH: U.S. defender Jalen Neal was shown a yellow card against Trinidad and Tobago. Should he receive another caution vs. Canada, he will miss the potential semifinal match.

CANADA ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (2): 16-Tom McGill (Brighton & Hove Albion/ENG; 0/0), 1-Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United FC/USA; 3/0)

DEFENDERS (8): 14-Moise Bombito (Colorado Rapids/USA; 3/0), 2-Zachary Brault-Guillard (CF Montreal; 8/1), 23-Scott Kennedy (Jahn Regensburg/GER; 13/0), 22-Richie Laryea (Toronto FC; 44/2), 15-Zac McGraw (Portland Timbers/USA; 3/0), 4-Kamal Miller (Inter Miami CF/USA; 37/0), 5-Steven Vitoria (Chaves/POR; 43/4), 6-Dominick Zator (Korona Kielce/POL; 2/0)

MIDFIELDERS (5): 20-Ali Ahmed (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; 3/0), 3-Liam Fraser (Deinze/BEL; 18/0), 12-Victor Loturi (Ross County/SCO; 1/0), 21-Jonathan Osorio (Toronto FC; 67/9), 8-David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone/SCO; 12/1)

FORWARDS (7): 19-Charles-Andreas Brym (FC Eindhoven/NED; 10/1), 9-Lucas Cavallini (Tijuana/MEX; 39/19), 10-Junior Hoilett (Reading/ENG; 58/15), 11-Liam Millar (Basel/SUI; 20/1), 7-Jayden Nelson (Rosenborg/NOR; 5/2), 17-Jacen Rusell-Rowe (Columbus Crew/USA; 2/0), 13-Jacob Shaffelburg (Nashville SC/USA; 6/0)

IN FOCUS: CANADA
SOCCER HISTORY:

• Canada has appeared in 16 of 17 Concacaf Gold Cups all-time and is the lone nation to win the continental championship besides Mexico and the United States, taking home the 2000 title.
• At the 2021 Gold Cup, Canada reached the semifinals for the fourth time, falling 2-1 to Mexico late in second-half stoppage time.
• Les Rouges returned to the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986, finishing fourth in Group F behind Morocco, Croatia and Belgium.

HOW THEY GOT HERE:

• Canada qualified for the Gold Cup as one of the top two finishers in the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League A, Group C.
• The Canadians topped Group C with a 3-1-0 record against Honduras and Curaçao. During the June international window, Canada topped Curaçao 4-0 and fell 2-1 at Honduras, then wrapped up the Nations League Group Stage in March, topping Curaçao 2-0 away before rolling Honduras 4-1 in Toronto.

ROSTER NOTES:

• Ten players on Canada’s 21-man roster play in Major League Soccer, including four players based domestically in Canada.
• The rest of the squad plays in Scotland (two players), Belgium, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Switzerland (one each).
• Midfielder Jonathan Osorio is the squad’s most-capped player with 67 international appearances, while forward Lucas Cavallini’s 18 goals lead the team.
• Goalkeeper and captain Milan Borjan was ruled out of the tournament following Canada’s second group stage match. Canada has until 24 hours before the quarterfinal to replace him, pending approval by Concacaf.

HEAD COACH JOHN HERDMAN:

• Head coach John Herdman took the reins of Canada on January 8, 2018 at the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup cycle.
• Last year, he led Canada to its first World Cup appearance in 36 years. He’s logged a 36-14-7 record in charge of Les Rouges.
• Previously, Herdman led the Canada women’s national team from 2011-18 and the New Zealand women’s national team from 2006-11.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:

• Single yellow cards will be eliminated after the quarterfinals.
• If teams are tied at the end of regulation in the knockout stage, two 15-minute periods of extra time will be played. If the score is still tied, the game will go to penalty kicks.
• Teams are permitted to use a maximum of five substitutes over the course of three moments. An additional substitution and moment will be allowed in extra time.
• Substitutions made during halftime, before the start of extra time and halftime of extra time do not count as one of the allotted moments.

GOING FOR GOLD:

After taking home one continental title earlier this month with a dominant performance at the Concacaf Nations League, the USMNT is aiming for a record-tying eighth Concacaf Gold Cup this June/July. Another championship would mark the first time ever that one nation has won four straight Concacaf titles.

The U.S. entered the tournament as Gold Cup champion following a strong performance in the 2021 competition. There, the U.S. rattled off six-straight wins and allowed just one goal en route to the title. The championship run was punctuated with a dramatic 1-0 win against Mexico in the tournament final, as defender Miles Robinson headed home the game-winning goal in added extra time. It marked two continental titles in two months for the USMNT with two almost entirely different rosters.

Held every two years, the Gold Cup has crowned a confederation champion biennially since 1991. Similar to the UEFA European Championship or the Copa America, lifting the trophy brings prestige and regional supremacy across North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The U.S. has won the tournament seven times (1991, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017, 2021), just behind all-time leader Mexico (1993, 1996, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2015). Canada is the only other tournament champion, winning in 2000. 

EXPERIENCE AT THE CORE:

The Gold Cup roster is anchored with players who have tournament action under their belts. A total of 12 have previous experience at this competition, with nine having won at least once and 11 having reached a final. Matt Turner and Miles Robinson earned a spot on the 2021 Tournament Best XI, leading a total of seven players to lift the ’21 championship trophy. Five players helped the USMNT lift the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League trophy last month: Turner and Robinson plus goalkeepers Sean Johnson and Matt Turner, midfielder Alan Soñora and forward Alex Zendejas.

In addition, the squad features seven players from the 2022 FIFA World Cup team: Johnson and Turner plus defenders Aaron Long and DeAndre Yedlin, midfielder Cristian Roldan and forwards Jesús Ferreira and Jordan Morris.

Sean Johnson becomes the ninth USMNT player named to five or more Gold Cup rosters, joining DaMarcus Beasley (6), Landon Donovan (6), Frankie Hejduk (6), Kasey Keller (6), Clint Dempsey (5), Brad Guzan (5), Cobi Jones (5) and Eric Wynalda (5).

FRESH FACES

Complementing the veteran core is a number of young, hungry players looking to make their mark on the senior USMNT. Seven players are age-eligible for next summer’s 2024 Olympics, the U.S. men’s first appearance at the tournament since 2008: goalkeeper Gaga Slonina, defenders Jalen Neal, John Tolkin and Bryan Reynolds, midfielders Gianluca Busio and Aidan Morris plus forward Cade Cowell.

Eleven players brought six or less caps and will look to gain valuable international tournament experience during the USA’s quest for an eighth Gold Cup: Cowell, Morris, Neal, Reynolds, Slonina and Tolkin plus defender DeJuan Jones, midfielder Djordje Mihailovic and forwards Julian Gressel, Brandon Vazquez and Alex Zendejas.

Prior to the 2021 Gold Cup, goalkeeper Matt Turner and Miles Robinson had a combined four international caps. The pair played every minute for the U.S. at the tournament, allowing just one goal and earning Best XI honors, catapulting them to some of the first names on the team sheet for the USMNT. Now, these players have the opportunity to take a similar step forward.

REPPING FROM NEAR AND FAR

As expected, this Gold Cup roster has a more U.S.-based influence than the Concacaf Nations League squad, with a total of 17 of 23 players coming from Major League Soccer. Players also join from clubs in England (2), Italy (2), Mexico (1) and Netherlands (1).

With two selections each, FC Cincinnati, San Jose Earthquakes and Seattle Sounders lead the list of 12 MLS teams represented on the roster, followed by Atlanta United, Columbus Crew, FC Dallas, Inter Miami, LAFC, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution, New York City FC and New York Red Bulls.