The USA will defend their Gold Cup crown beginning on Saturday when they host Jamaica at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Last Sunday, the Yanks retained their CONCACAF Nations League title by defeating Canada 2-0 in the final, while the Reggae Boyz have yet to win a match this year, dropping a 2-1 friendly versus Jordan earlier this week.

Match preview

Despite the coaching uncertainty and a scandal that broke following their exit from the 2022 World Cup, the Americans put it aside this past weekend and lifted another trophy on the continental stage.

That coaching question has since been answered as Gregg Berhalter will re-assume his role as full-time manager when this competition concludes, after being away from the sidelines while the US federation looked into a domestic abuse case involving the man who guided them to the finals in Qatar.

BJ Callaghan will be leading them into the Gold Cup this year, and his tenure as interim boss has proven to be memorable as his players were clinical in their Nations League semi-final triumph over arch-rivals Mexico (3-0) and followed that up with an equally impressive victory in the final, having now claimed three straight CONCACAF titles for the first time.

As is often the case at this tournament, it appears as though the US will be trying to get more youngsters some international experience, with 14 players on the 23-man roster having accumulated fewer than 10 caps, while Sean Johnson and Aaron Long are the only ones selected who are 30 years of age or above.

Many of the players selected may be experiencing this competition for the first time, but the Americans are used to making deep runs at the Gold Cup, appearing in the final 12 times, winning it all on seven occasions, one shy of the record currently held by Mexico.

They have captured eight successive group encounters at this tournament and have not suffered a defeat at that stage of the competition since a 2-1 loss to Panama in 2011.

Heading into this encounter, the Yanks are unbeaten in their previous five matches against the Jamaicans, outscoring them 7-1 in their last three home games combined.

Making their fifth successive trip to the Gold Cup, there is a belief that this upcoming tournament may be the last opportunity for many Jamaican standouts to win a trophy on the continental stage.

Jamaica came close to winning this competition not too long ago, becoming the first Caribbean nation to reach the final in 2015 and making it again two years later, but falling at the final hurdle versus Mexico and the USA, respectively.

Heimir Hallgrimsson assumed control of the Reggae Boyz in September 2022, and the man who led Iceland to their first World Cup appearance in 2018 is still searching for his first victory as the Jamaica boss, with his side squandering a 1-0 lead versus Jordan the last time out.

Since taking charge, Hallgrimsson has seen his side miss numerous opportunities to claim victories, as the Jamaicans have squandered a lead in three of his seven matches at the helm.

You have to go back to early June 2019 for the last time they defeated the US, capturing a 1-0 victory in a friendly played in Washington DC, with their previous Gold Cup triumph against them coming at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta when the Reggae Boyz upset the Yanks 2-1 in the semi-finals.

At the 2021 Gold Cup, the Jamaicans were knocked out in the quarter-finals by the United States 1-0, while they have made it beyond the group stage in each of their previous four appearances at this tournament.

It has been over a year since this team defeated a country within their region, beating Suriname 3-1 in early June 2022 in Nations League play.

Team News

John Tolkin and Gabriel Slonina are the least experienced Americans chosen for this tournament with just a single cap each, DeAndre Yedlin has the most with 78 appearances, while Julian Gressel, Alan Sonora, Aidan Morris, Jalen Neal and DeJuan Jones have only featured twice for the senior side.

Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun, who were not selected for this tournament, each notched their first international goals in their Nations League triumph versus Canada, with Matt Turner, who will be with them at the Gold Cup, collecting a clean sheet, his 15th with the national team, putting him third all-time among American goalkeepers behind Tim Howard (29) and Kasey Keller (34).

Miles Robinson, who scored the winning goal for the US in the 2021 Gold Cup final, is one of six players from that squad that will be on the 2023 team, along with Turner, Gianluca Busio, Sean Johnson, Cristian Roldan and James Sands.

Two Jamaicans chosen for this tournament are seeking their first appearance for the national team, including Brandon Cover and Coniah Boyce-Clarke, while Jahmali Waite picked up his fourth cap between the sticks in their 2-1 loss to Qatar earlier this month.

Adrian Mariappa is their most experienced player chosen for this tournament with 68 caps, four more than captain Andre Blake, while Shamar Nicholson is the top goalscorer selected, netting 10 times, while Michail Antonio is coming off a Europa Conference League victory for his club side West Ham.

Cory Burke had the only goal in their previous match versus Jordan, his seventh for the national team, while Dujuan Richards and Kaheem Parris are still searching for their first with the senior squad.

USA possible starting lineup:
Turner; Yedlin, Robinson, Miazga, Tolkin; Sands, A. Morris; Roldan, Busio, Vazquez; Cowell

Jamaica possible starting lineup:
Blake; Brown, Mariappa, King, Bell; Richards, Russell, Lambert, Parris; Nicholson, Antonio

We say: USA 2-0 Jamaica

The United States have perhaps the best talent pool to choose from in all of CONCACAF, and although many of those selected have not played together on the international stage, they should be familiar with one another as all but seven of them currently feature in MLS.

For Jamaica, their golden generation is nearing its end, and their lack of cohesion could cost them this weekend against a side with a ton of attacking quality.

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