CONCACAF and the AFC have also entered into a kind of mutual support/exchange program in advance of both federations hosting World Cups. And Qatar Air is sponsoring the Gold Cup, so…CONCACAF used to invite teams to the Gold Cup starting in 1996 (Brazil), and continuing through additional tournaments like 1998 (Brazil), 2000 (Colombia, Peru, South Korea), 2002 (Ecuador, South Korea), 2003 (Brazil, Colombia), and 2005 (South Africa, Colombia).
It cheapens the integrity of the regional championship, but I don't mind. The USMNT is starved for quality competitive games, and if inviting Qatar and hopefully bigger & better teams than Qatar to the Gold Cup helps with that, I'm fine with it.
Qatar are already booked for the 2023 Gold Cup as well.
It was an agreement that contemplated competitive opportunities, among other things. The two regions have also committed to referee exchanges and sharing best practices around the hosting of the World Cup. Qatar hosts the event in 2022, followed by the USA, Canada and Mexico in 2026.
As part of that arrangement, Qatar was invited to participate in the 2021 and 2023 Gold Cup tournaments. It won't hurt that Qatar's invitation has also led to Qatar Airways joining on as a multi-year tournament sponsor .
Thank you!CONCACAF and the AFC have also entered into a kind of mutual support/exchange program in advance of both federation a hosting World Cups. And Qatar Air is sponsoring the Gold Cup, so…
And it should be emphasized again that from the USMNT perspective, the death of the Confederations Cup and the birth of the friendly-date-stealing UEFA Nations League have been bad developments for our ability to schedule solid opponents. Our only competitive games are the Gold Cup and WCQ, and even finding solid friendly opponents is getting harder.CONMEBOL has a history of inviting countries from other federations to make up the numbers at the Copa.
pretty sure it’s a 10 pm kickoffIs 930 the actual kickoff time tonight?
Dike starts at GK or we riot.The lineup graphic my phone just showed me has Dike at LWB. That's a lie, right?
Agree with all of this. I’ll add that I will be watching the US left side. Excited to see what Hoppe can do, curious to see how the US deals with Leon Bailey. Vines will have to be on his game. Bailey has been pretty poor by his standards, so hopefully that continues.I think that the Twitter Masses will be mostly pleased with this lineup. I am surprised that Arriola is starting because I didn't think he'd be fit enough.
I'll be looking for the midfield's ability to play defense. Busio needs to offer a bit more, especially because as one of two CBs Sands will have less freedom to step into the midfield.
Hoppe is a wild card. He does interesting stuff and looks like he could create something out there, but I worry that as a young attacker who is mostly a forward he'll derp out on his defensive responsibilities at time. Something to look out for.Agree with all of this. I’ll add that I will be watching the US left side. Excited to see what Hoppe can do, curious to see how the US deals with Leon Bailey. Vines will have to be on his game. Bailey has been pretty poor by his standards, so hopefully that continues.
Second half kickoff will coincide with the end of primetime Olympics coverage? That's the only reason I can think of.10p est kick? Why? Still 9 in jamaica.
Well, the other game had to end....they're playing in same place. Other game started at 7:30 I think.Second half kickoff will coincide with the end of primetime Olympics coverage? That's the only reason I can think of.
Schalke is nature's most powerful sedative.Hoppe plays USMNT games like he’s heavily caffeinated in a way I do not recall noticing for Schalke.
Let’s not make it 3 short corners in a rowUhh nice corner guys.
I largely agree about Busio's lack of physicality, but I think he's actually been much more aggressive tonight and has more positive defensive actions. The problem is that he needs to hit the weight room; it doesn't matter how determined he is, he's going to continue to get bodied off the ball by physical opponents.I'm as big a Busio fan as anybody, but I think he's playing too physically timid tonight. He seems to be bullied off of the ball a lot, which will never work in CONCACAF (though to be fair he did use some dark magic to draw a yellow, which is very CONCACAFy). Williamson at the half, please.