Not to get ahead of myself, but…the United States men’s national team might be back?
One summer after suffering an embarrassing group-stage exit at the Copa America — which included an upset against Panamá in addition to the expected defeat to Uruguay — America has made light work of its group at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, thrashing Trinidad and Tobago, 5-0, before edging out Saudi Arabia in a 1-0 affair. Of course, the competition isn’t as strong without all of the South American nations, but neither is this US squad, mostly filled with youngsters playing in the MLS.
The Americans will conclude their group stage with a 7 p.m. match against Haiti, although the match will be irrelevant; unless Saudi Arabia wins its match against Trinidad and Tobago and manages to better the United States’ result by seven goals, the hosts will top Group D, which means a knockout stage matchup with the loser of the Mexico-Costa Rica match.
The United States is a -245 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, with Haiti at +600 and a draw at +400.
United States vs. Haiti prediction, pick
The United States didn’t quite as good against the Saudis as it did in its opening match against Trinidad and Tobago, but to be fair, that team has plenty of experience playing against quality opponents, as most of its squad plays domestically in the star-studded Saudi Pro League. There were still plenty of positives; the Americans managed 67% possession and held Saudi Arabia to three shots, including one on target, without starting a full-strength side. Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams has played just 29 total minutes and Real Betis midfielder Johnny Cardoso hasn’t seen the field at all, so they’ll be well-rested if Mauricio Pochettino even chooses to play them in a meaningless match. I’d expect Pochettino to rotate out Malik Tillman, who has played every minute of the competition so far, scoring two goals.
Haiti picked up its first point of the competition with a 1-1 draw against Trinidad and Tobago and were probably unlucky not to take all three points, given that it attempted 16 shots to the Trinidadians’ nine. But it only managed to get three of those 16 efforts on target and was down to 10 men for most of the match after Jean-Kévin Duverne’s 39th-minute red card, and in addition, Garven Metusala and Danlev Jean-Jacques picked up yellows. Being one match away from a suspension probably won’t matter for Metusala, a usual substitute, but Haiti will have to be careful with Jean-Jacques, given that he’s a regular starter and they’d need him against either Mexico or Costa Rica if they advanced to the knockouts. Duverne’s suspension will matter; the Ligue 1 veteran and current Kortrijk man is the second-most valuable player in the squad.
The Caribbean nation shouldn’t be underestimated; Frantzdy Pierrot managed six goals this season for AEK Athens in the Greek Super League and scored twice for Israeli club Maccabi Haifa in the 2023-24 Conference League. He’s also scored four goals in his last five matches for Haiti, including a brace in a 3-0 friendly win over Azerbaijan. With Pierrot’s size and well-rounded game, he might prose problems for the American defense, as promising as Max Arfsten and Alex Freeman have looked. I’m expecting the Haitians will come out aggressive, needing three points and some help to advance, but for the United States to do just enough.
