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After making a massive effort to be in the Gold Cup, Nicaragua have failed to shine after two matches so far as they have lost both. They are almost eliminated, but they will make a push for the 3rd place when they play host to USA on Saturday, July 15th, who have almost qualified to the next round.
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Nicaragua made a stunning effort in the knock-out matches against Haiti, as despite the fact that they lost by 1-3 in the first leg, they scored a whopping 3 goals in the last 5 minutes of the second leg in order to make a heroic come-back. Even so, they have failed to bring that momentum in the Gold Cup, as they have suffered equal losses in their first two matches of the competition, against Martinique and Panama. They were stunned by the minnow nation in the opener, as they conceded the first goal at the 35th minute, and despite their efforts for an equalizer, they conceded once again at the 66th for the final 0-2. In the second match against Panama they knew that failing to grab a single point would probably leave them eliminated, but they did take the lead at the 48th minute. Even so, they saw their opponents pull even just two minute later, while Panama completed the overturn with another goal just 7 minutes later. Nicaragua can only hope for a miracle here, as even if they defeat USA there is no guarantee that they will even reach the 3rd spot.
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On the other hand, USA came into this tournament as one of the two big favorites along with Mexico. Coach Bruce Arena has made a selection of young and talented players, and things have looked quite solid so far. They weren't very good in the opener against Panama, but they took the lead at the 50th minute when Dom Dwyer scored his maiden goal with the US selection. However, they saw their opponents pull even just 10 minutes later, and were unable to take something more than a single point. In their next match they were facing the theoretically weakest team in the group, Martinique, who actually gave them quite a scare. After a goal-less first half, it was USA who took the lead with Gonzalez at the 54th minute, and doubled that at the 64th with Morris. Even so, they saw their opponents score twice in a 10 minute span in order to pull even, but Morris scored his second goal at the 76th minute for the final 2-3. With 4 points in the bag already, USA would have to really screw things up in order to not qualify.
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