Concacaf

The USMNT advanced to the semifinals of the 2019 Gold Cup with a 1-0 victory over Curaçao, and it really was that close. A wonderful combination between Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie in the 25th minute proved to be the match-winner, and the U.S. had to rely on five saves from Zack Steffen to weather the storm from the tiny Dutch Caribbean island.

The opening 25 minutes of play had very little to due with what transpired over the final 65 — that opening period was really the only time the U.S. seemed to be in control. 

Mexico’s quest for its eighth Gold Cup — and first since 2015 — almost came to an abrupt end in Houston last night in front of over 70,000 at NRG Stadium. Raúl Jiménez had given El Tri a first half lead, only for Costa Rica to respond in the second half via a converted Bryan Ruiz penalty.

That would be the only scoring on the night, so the match would be decided on penalties. The shootout started as a nightmare for Mexico after Jiménez had his shot saved while Celso Borges converted for Costa Rica.

Down 2-0 with only 40 minutes remaining in last night’s CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal, Haiti produced a barnstorming comeback to knockout Canada 3-2 while clinching a spot in the semifinals for the first time ever. 

The progress that Canada had evidently made under John Herdman had been one of the talking points of the group stage, and there were whispers of the Canucks upsetting the odds to claim their first continental title since 2000.

On Friday night, goalkeeper Eloy Room stood on his head to earn the Curaçao national team its first-ever Gold Cup victory, 1-0 over favored Honduras.

Juriën Gaari did one better on Tuesday night.

In the midst of Women’s World Cup nail-biters and Luis Suarez antics you probably missed it, but Monday night Bermuda quietly made history. With a convincing 2-0 victory over Nicaragua at the Gold Cup, Bermuda, an island nation of about 65,000 people, achieved its first victory ever in a major international competition.

It’s been a vengeful week for U.S. Soccer. Last night at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, the USMNT romped to a 6-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago, exacting a small fraction of revenge for that frightful night in Couva. The win came only two days after the USWNT had vanquished its own personal demons by defeating Sweden at the Women’s World Cup.

Take a bow, Eloy Room. The Curaçao goalie set a tournament record with 15 saves to lead his tiny nation of about 160,000 to its first-ever Gold Cup win, 1-0 over Honduras on Friday in Houston. 

The Curaçao keeper was unbeatable to keep Honduras, the group favorite, at bay. In a great moment after the match, Room celebrated with fans of Honduras’ rival, El Salvador.

You just can’t give Andres Guardado that much space. 

Canada may have one of its best squads in decades, but if it wants to compete for its first Gold Cup since 2000, the Canucks will have to defend better than they did early in the second half against Mexico.

Yasmani López, who captained Cuba in a 7-0 loss to Mexico on Saturday, has defected, Cuba coach Raul Mederos has confirmed. 

Cuba was routed by El Tri in their Gold Cup opener at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and López did not travel with the team to Denver, where Cuba will play Martinique on Wednesday.

Just like the USWNT in the Women’s World Cup, the USMNT had to wait a long time to kick off the Gold Cup as the final team to kick off its campaign.

Christian Pulisic was ready.

Pulisic pulled off a filthy elastico to set up an early chance for the U.S. in its Group D opener against Guyana on Tuesday night at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota.