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.
When the USMNT failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Michael Bradley became a major target of vitriol from U.S. fans. The son of a former coach, Bradley has been booed across the country since that fateful night in Trinidad and Tobago in October of 2017.
Bradley is too slow, too dumb, too useless, the critics say.
But the career Michael Bradley USMNT stats suggest he deserves more respect than he gets.
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.
El Tri kicked off its battle to regain the CONCACAF Gold Cup last Saturday night, and what a way to start the campaign. The Mexicans outplayed their Cuban counterparts in a overwhelmingly one-sided match.
21-year-old LA Galaxy talent Uriel Antuna kicked off the scoring with a right-footed shot inside the box after the ball rebounded from the post. Raul Jimenez announced himself at the Copa Oro with a goal at the 31st minute, and his goal again showed how well he does at holding off pressure from opposition players.
We have ourselves an international tournament this summer! The 2019 Gold Cup is almost here! It begins Saturday with Canada and Martinique kicking us off. The tournament is played every two years and includes 12 teams that qualify through regional tournaments in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.