Scoring has always been secondary for the son of ex- US coach Bob Bradley and nephew of retired Major League Baseball catcher Scott Bradley.
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Canada will mount its Gold Cup campaign without influential midfielder Atiba Hutchinson and defender Doneil Henry (both injured) and goalkeeper Milan Borjan (club commitments).
The Red, White, & Blue are looking for the the country’s fifth Gold Cup win after raising the trophy in 2013 with a 1-0 victory over Panama in the tournament’s Final.
While the United States National Team found a way to defeat a hard-working Honduras side on the opening day of the Gold Cup, they need to make some improvements if they are going to win the Cup for a second straight year.
The teams resume Group A action at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on Friday night as Honduras faces Panama and the United States meets Haiti. They open group play Tuesday (9:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1) against Honduras in Dallas.
The United States of America badly needed Dempsey’s heroics on a night when Honduras pushed the Americans for 90 minutes and, it can be argued, played the better match. His kick-save bounced into the path of Dempsey, though, whose incredible snap-reaction with his head caromed the ball into the net. Dempsey set him up for a great chance in on goal in the first half, but his shot was hit right at the Honduran goalkeeper.
After some dodgy early moments from the US, the Americans got the breakthrough in the 25th minute.
Anthony Lozano will be the player to watch for Honduras. Jozy Altidore jumped and tried to flick on, but the ball passed through into the center of the box. That was Brad Guzan’s quote after the United States Men’s National Team eked out a tight, hard-fought, 2-1 victory over a determined Honduras team. The Americans will have more of the ball, but they’ll be trying to break down a team committed to defending in numbers and playing physically.
Midfielder Michael Bradley became the fourth youngest MNT player to reach 100 caps.
Six minutes later the US came close to doubling their lead when Fabian Johnson played a flawless through ball to DeAndre Yedlin making a run down the middle.
Clint Dempsey made his 16th Gold Cup appearance tonight, the most on the team.
Ex- Barcelona assistant Roca helped his side to a fourth-place finish at the Copa Centroamericana previous year and is positive going into the Gold Cup.
The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup soccer tournament kicks off on Tuesday as the group stage gets underway and continues with matchups through July 15.
Dempsey has now scored in each of the last two MNT matches and has increased his career total to 43 worldwide goals.
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View complete listings via Live Soccer TV. Announcing reforms while launching a tournament doesn’t exactly bode well for business or reputation, but that’s the spot that CONCACAF has put itself in with Federation Internationale de Football Association. Nevertheless, Altidore had his chances in the run of play, not to mention a missed PK.
