The Club World Cup is not the only tournament taking place in the United States this month, with the CONCACAF Gold Cup also kicking off this week. The USA begin their group stage campaign against Trinidad and Tobago.
They do so with Mauricio Pochettino starting to feel the heat after a dire friendly performance on Wednesday. The US were jeered after losing 4-0 at home to Switzerland in Nashville, following on from another friendly loss against Turkey last weekend.
With only one year to go until the World Cup which they will also host, the pressure is on Pochettino to start getting more out of this side. The Argentine has though opted to leave a number of key players out of this squad, with some taking part in the Club World Cup instead, so this tournament will give some of his fringe players an opportunity to shine.
As for Trinidad and Tobago, they head into this game following a 2-1 World Cup qualifying defeat in Costa Rica. Dwight Yorke’s side gave quite a good account of themselves in that match and they’ll be targeting qualification from this group which also includes Haiti and Saudi Arabia.
How the bookies view it: Only one result expected
Despite their current struggles, the bookies can only see one result here. The United States are priced at 1/9 to win the game with Boylesports, while you can back Trinidad and Tobago at 14/1. The draw is priced at 13/2.
Recent head-to-head: Home advantage key
While Trinidad have won their last two home fixtures against the United States, including a 2-1 victory in the most recent meeting between the sides in 2023, they’ve an awful record in this country. They’ve been beaten to nil on each of their last six visits to the US.
Players to watch: Agyemang to fire for the Stars and Stripes?
While there’s a fair amount of uncertainty when it comes to Pochettino’s lineup, Patrick Agyemang is pushing hard for a start having scored three friendly goals so far this year for his country. He’s also in good club form with four goals in his last four games for Charlotte FC and you can back the 24-year-old to score first at 7/2 with William Hill in this one.
Predicted Lineups
Pochettino is likely to make a number of changes following the defeat to Switzerland, but he’s missing regulars like Giovanni Reyna, Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie to the Club World Cup.
The underdogs may not change too much from the Costa Rica game, although they are missing the injured Josiah Trimmingham.
USA: Turner, Arfsten, McKenzie, Zimmerman, Harriel, Adams, Cardoso, B. Aaronson, De la Torre, Wright, Agyemang.
Trinidad and Tobago: Phillip, Cardines, A. Jones, Raymond, Bateau, Spicer, Sealy, Molino, Phillips, Fortune, L. Garcia.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given those US absentees and the surely fragile confidence levels in the home camp right now, the Caribbean islanders stand a much better chance of competing in this match than has been the case in the same fixture in recent years. Given that, backing Trinidad and Tobago +2 handicap at 9/5 with Boylesports may be worth considering.
The same bookmaker also has odds of 11/8 for both teams to score, a winning bet in five of the last seven Trinidad games.
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