The U.S. Men’s National team locked in a spot in the Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinals and will play one more group stage match versus Haiti for a chance to secure the No. 1 position in Group D.
The USA opened the tournament with a commanding 5-0 victory against Trinidad and Tobago, then held on to the top spot against Saudi Arabia with a narrow 1-0 win. To round out the group stage, the USMNT will take on Haiti (7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT on FOX). All the Americans need is a draw, but they aim for three more points.
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Here’s everything you need to know before the USA kicks off against Haiti:
1. Injury Updates
After the Americans’ training session on Saturday, the team announced forward Haji Wright will miss the rest of tournament with a lingering Achilles issue. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino clarified that the injury was an issue Wright was working out before camp.
Midfielders Tyler Adams (foot) and Johnny Cardoso (illness) didn’t dress for the first group match. Adams also missed the previous match, a friendly against Switzerland the week prior. They were both active in the second game, and Adams subbed on in the second half just before the U.S. scored the go-ahead goal.
2. Freezing Out the Goal
Matt Freese has startedboth games in goal for the Gold Cup and he’s recorded two clean sheets. Freese got his first National Team call-up ahead of the June international window and earned his first cap in a friendly versus Türkiye.
“We've all grown through the camp, and I've seen Matt's kind of evolution frombeginning,” defender Chris Richards said. “I wouldn't say he was unsure, but I think with games, with practice, everybody gets a little bit more confident. I think we kind of have good chemistry within the back line.”
Through two matches, the USA is the only team in this tournament to allow zero goals. The USMNT will look to keep three clean sheets in the group stage for the third time in program history (2007, 2019). If Freese earns a third against Haiti, the USA will have completed the group stage feat more times than the rest of the tournament combined — Mexico (2021) and Jamacia (2011) both did it once.
3. Set Piece Setup
The USMNT got the win against Saudi Arabia on a set piece off a free kick. It’s something they’ve been intentional about in training.
“Since [Mauricio Pochettino has] come in, we've put a huge emphasis on the structure of set pieces, both defensively and offensively,” Tyler Adams said. “Offensively, I feel like we've always had the ability to be good at them, so I think now it's important just putting the balls in the right areas, making sure guys are making the right runs.”
Practicing extensively helped Sebastian Berhalter connect with Chris Richards in the Saudi Arabia group stage match, but technology contributed, too. Pochettino said like many other teams, the USMNT uses technology to be more effective in set piece success.
“We've added a few pieces of equipment as well, with this thing called a TrackMan that shows if you put the ball in a certain area, the percentage of scoring or getting ahead on it or first contact is going to go up,” Adams said. “I think putting the ball in the consistent delivery has been really important, but we [also] have threats.”
If the USA finds consistency in that attack, it could be especially helpful in later rounds of the Gold Cup and a year from now in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
4. Where the Field Currently Stands
The tournament’s group stage concludes June 24, and three teams, including the United States, have punched their ticket to the knockout round.
If the U.S. beats Haiti and comes out on top of their group, the Americans will meet Group A’s No. 2 team. So far, Mexico leads the group. Costa Rica is close behind, also with six points and two wins. They’ll meet to decide the top spot at 9 p.m. ET.
Canada and Honduras currently lead Group B, while Panama and Jamaica top Group C. Two teams from each group advances to the quarterfinals at either U.S. Bank Stadium (Minneapolis) or State Farm Stadium (Glendale, Ariz.).
5. USMNT History vs. Haiti
The USMNT holds a 7-6-5 record against Haiti, although all those losses came before 1976 when Les Grenadiers won six straight meetings from 1968-73.
Four of the last five meetings have all been in the Gold Cup and all in the group stage. The USA won three meetings and tied once. They last met in the 2021 tournament, where the U.S. beat Haiti 1-0 on the way to its seventh Gold Cup trophy.
Overall, the USMNT has scored 24 goals against Haiti and given up 19, but only conceded three since the turn of the century. This will be the fifth straight meetup in the United States; before that, 12 games were played in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
