Gold Cup US - Trinidad & Tobago preview

The good news for Bob Bradley after the U.S. national team's win over Guatemala was clear -- his first tournament win was behind him now, and having accomplished that, he could focus on progressing through the competition. That the Americans squeaked by with a one-goal victory over their Central American rivals is a quibble that even critics will forget if the U.S. performs well versus Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday.

Though they played with a man down for the last 17 minutes, the current champs only needed Clint Dempsey’s lone goal to beat Guatemala.

“Debuts are always hard”, Stated Bob Bradley After the two first games disputed in Los Angeles, the U.S. faced a crowd that was not cheering for them. Bradley also made it clear that striker Eddie Johnson, who only played sub minutes in the opening game, will be given the chance to use his speed up top versus Trinidad and Tobago's backline. 

Jay DeMerit, who finished off that game for the U.S. in central defense, is likely to continue as the first choice fill-in. Though not as physically imposing as Onyewu, DeMerit is also a legitimate scoring threat on set pieces, and athletic enough even to corral even speedy strikers.  Yet if DeMerit can play a more controlled game than Onyewu managed, he could impress his coach considerably.

“It was like playing in Mateo Flores”, stated Guatemalan player Carlos Ruiz talking about the stadium they played in.

“It’s something normal”, indicated Dempsey. “It will always be like this, but we would like some more support”.

Bradley wants a team that finishes better, and that way they wont suffer like they did against Guatemala.

“We have to take advantage of our opportunities. A second goal would have brought a calm to the team”, said Bradley.