Montserrat — a tiny Caribbean island of less than 40 square miles named by Christopher Columbus, a territory of fewer than 5,000 inhabitants that was wrecked by a volcano 24 years ago, with a team ranked No. 200 in the world — is one win away from qualifying for the 2019 Gold Cup.
It’s less than three months before the Copa América kicks off in Brazil and the Gold Cup commences across the United States, so adidas is pulling out all the stops when it comes to some of the biggest teams in its stable. This week, adidas revealed the jerseys that Mexico, Argentina and Colombia will be wearing at the major international tournaments.
We’ve suspected as much since late October, but Mexico has finally unveiled former Atlanta United manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino as boss. Martino is fresh off being named the 2018 MLS Coach of the Year after guiding Atlanta to the MLS Cup in only its second year of existence.
Martino’s club experience also includes stints in charge of Newell’s Old Boys and Barcelona, while at the international level he’s previously managed Paraguay and Argentina.
According to leaks from Todo Sobre Camisetas and Footy Headlines, Mexico will look to reclaim the Gold Cup in 2019 wearing black jerseys. Back in 2015, El Tri debuted black home kits to be worn at the Copa America — the first time in nearly 50 years that Mexico had abandoned its traditional green for something more radical.
The USMNT’s first competitive match after more than 600 days will be played in Minnesota on June 18. The 2019 Gold Cup schedule, venues and dates were announced Tuesday and the U.S. is going to be setting up in the Midwest for the 15th edition of Concacaf’s championship tournament.
Since losing to Trinidad and Tobago to be knocked out of the 2018 World Cup one year ago Wednesday, the USMNT has played some meaningless friendlies with a bunch of young kids and an interim coach.
Earnie Stewart’s search for the next USMNT manager hit the news wires this week after the U.S. General Manager was spotted at MAPFRE Stadium to watch Gregg Berhalter’s Columbus Crew defeat Colorado 2-1, and the flames of the fire were further fanned with the rumor that Stewart had held talks with FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja — a rumor that was later quashed by Yahoo! Sports.
It was a wild ride for American midfielder Dax McCarty in 2017. In January, McCarty was recalled by the national team for the first time since 2011, but he was subsequently shocked to learn that after five and a half seasons with the New York Red Bulls, he’d been dealt to the Chicago Fire before the start of the new campaign.
McCarty then helped the USMNT triumph at the Gold Cup, starting in two group stage games and appearing in five games overall, including a late substitute appearance in the final against Jamaica.
On Tuesday, U.S. Soccer announced the five finalists for the 2017 U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year award. The nominees include last year’s winner, Jozy Altidore, three-time winner Clint Dempsey, 2015 winner Michael Bradley, 23-year-old Jordan Morris and 19-year-old Christian Pulisic.
Counting down from five to one, here’s who we believe to be the most deserving of the award.
The United States defeated Jamaica 2-1 in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final thanks to phenomenal goals from Jozy Altidore and Jordan Morris. Altidore struck a pinpoint free kick on the stroke of halftime, but Je-Vaughn Watson equalized for Jamaica shortly after the break. With extra time looming, Morris dispatched a blistering effort in the 88th to give America the Cup.
The return of Bruce Arena as manager of the USMNT has been close to perfection — he’s now unbeaten in 14 matches, and he’s managed to lift his country back to the top of CONCACAF.
As Jamaican Kemar Lawrence’s sweetly-struck free kick sailed into the back of the net in the semifinals of the Gold Cup on Sunday night, millions of soccer fans across America reacted viscerally. Some cheered for the wonderful goal. Some laughed as Mexico was knocked out of the Gold Cup. Some groaned over the loss of a Mexico-U.S. final. And many more shouted out in distress as their favorite soccer team suffered an ignominious defeat.