Gold Cup: USA vs. Guadeloupe

The task before the USA National Team coming into the Guadeloupe match was clear: win and advance. Actually Panama's 1-1 draw with Canada meant that the USA could advance with a draw, but after the horrid performance against Panama, the USA wasn't in the mood for a draw. That could have been a disaster.

The first half was a banner half for the Americans. Jozy Altidore put the USA on top in just the 9th minute with a great strike from distance. 1-0 to the Yanks. We held possession and got several good shots. Guadeloupe's keeper kept them in the match, coming up with a couple of gems against Chris Wondolowski, who I thought did much better tonight.

Really, whether he did or not, we can't criticize him anymore. The second half was a just nightmare of missed chances for the USA. Really, this match should have been at least 4-0. Landon Donovan missed a point blank shot, causing Kyle Martino to say he would have lost his home because he would have bet everything on Landycakes hitting that.

The more disturbing performance came from the usually reliable Clint Dempsey. Now, I'm not gonna pile on Clint here. He's just coming off of a long season in Europe where he really shined for Fulham, and represented the US overseas very well. However, he missed three point blank shots, including one where he tried to walk the ball over the line instead of just striking it, which allowed a Guadeloupe defender to recover and poke it away from him at the last second.

All in all, The US held on for the 1-0 win. Good enough to advance? Yes. Good enough to beat the stronger teams in the tournament? Doubt it.

Gold Cup: Canada vs. Guadeloupe

Honestly, there wasn't much to this match. I'm kind of surprised Canada didn't take more advantage considering they played against 10 pretty much the entire match. I am proud to say that RSL's Will Johnson once again looked to be one of Canada's most dangerous attacking options.

We did hold our collective breath in the 3rd minute though when Jean-Luc Lambourde made one of those "what the hell are you thinking" tackles on Will just outside the 18. You know, the kind Tim Ream makes when he gives up costly penalties. Anyway, Will was down for a few minutes, and Lambourde got a red card. Luckily for Canada and RSL, Will returned just fine.

There was no scoring until the second half. DeRo converted a PK in the 51st minute to seal a vital 3 points for the Canadians, and perhaps further add to the misery of the USA. Guadeloupe played pretty will with 10 men. Group C is certainly going to be interesting on the last day.