The Rio Tinto Stadium will host the USA vs Cuba match on Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 12:30 PM Pacific. USA won its opening Group C match against Belize by a wide margin (6-1), and is expected to once again come out with an easy victory. On their part, Cuba lost its first match of the Gold Cup against Costa Rica by 3-0, and will face a very difficult time against the USMNT.
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Update: The USMNT defeated Cuba 4-1. Click here for the full highlights and analysis.
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This “alternate” version of the USMNT has proven to be an offensive juggernaut, scoring 12 goals in its last 2 matches. The first half dozen goals were scored in a 6-0 friendly victory over Guatemala in San Diego, and the second in a 6-1 victory over Belize in the Gold Cup. Against Cuba, another CONCACAF minnow, the USA is expected to continue the high-scoring trend.
Other than the USMNT’s marvelous display against Belize, where it simply outclassed the semi-professional roster of the Central American squad, the other highlight of the match was Wondolowski. The San Jose striker scored a hat-trick, and had several other opportunities to add to the score. Most importantly, Wondolowski never gave up on the attack, he was hungry for goals.
If Wondolowski can continue scoring against Cuba and in the rest of the Gold Cup, he will have a good case for inclusion in the “A” version of the US squad. Landon Donovan is also making a strong case for re-inclusion in the USMNT’s main squad, he has played a key role in creating attacking opportunities and scoring in both the Guatemala and Belize matches.
Donovan is proving that he can add offensive talent to a US roster that has already been dominating the Hexagonal. We all know Donovan is an extremely talented player, he just needs to prove to Klinsmann in this Gold Cup that he is ready to commit 100% to the USMNT again.
On the other side of the pitch, we have Cuba. Playing with a roster full of semi-professional players, the Cubans have little chance of doing much of anything against the mighty USA. After the heavy 3-0 loss against Costa Rica, Cuba’s only chance to go through to the quarterfinals will be to avoid a heavy loss against the USA, beat Belize by several goals, and hope the third placed teams in Group A and B end up with a worse record.
USA vs Cuba Prediction
The USA vs Cuba match will be eerily similar to the USA vs Belize match. The USMNT will dominate the entire game, create plenty of scoring opportunities, and score a bunch of goals. The one key difference I predict is that the USA will not allow a goal this time around. Cuba’s offense appeared to be extremely limited in the game against Costa Rica, the Caribbeans will not cope well with the American pressure.
The USA vs Cuba match will end in a 5-0 victory for the USMNT, which will officially seal a spot for the USA in the quarterfinals. The USA will then face off with Costa Rica for the first spot in Group C on Tuesday, July 16.
USA vs Cuba Television
The USA vs Cuba match will be televised on Univision and Fox (yay for US soccer coverage on major networks!) this Saturday, July 13, 2013 at 12:30 PM Pacific.
USA vs Cuba Highlights
Click here for the USA 4-1 Cuba Highlights
FutnSoccer will be updating the USA vs Cuba highlights as soon as they are available at the end of the match, we will include a full review. You can watch the USA vs Belize 6-1 victory highlights for now.
