Needing a win to have any hope of advancing into the last eight of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Haiti battle the USA on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The seven-time winners of this competition booked a place in the quarter-finals thanks to a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on matchday two, while Haiti settled for a 1-1 draw versus Trinidad and Tobago.

Match preview

Persistence paid off for the Americans on Thursday as they had 68% of the possession and finally found a decisive breakthrough 22 minutes from the end.

That will serve as a big relief to Mauricio Pochettino, whose team had lost four successive matches heading into the Gold Cup but have won back-to-back games at this tournament without a single goal conceded.

All they need is a point this weekend to top their Gold Cup group for a seventh successive occasion, though three points would mark the third time in the last four editions of this competition that they end the group phase with a 100% record.

Since a 2-1 defeat at Trinidad and Tobago in November 2023, the US men have won four successive competitive fixtures against Caribbean opposition by a combined margin of 13-3.

The Yanks have gone on to win their previous 21 matches at the Gold Cup when netting the opening goal, a stretch that dates all the way back to the 2017 group stage of the tournament.

On nine consecutive occasions, the Americans have been able to avoid defeat versus the Haitians, winning the previous two meetings against them by a 1-0 score.

Despite being a man down for over half of their match with Trinidad, Haiti persevered and managed to keep their quarter-final hopes alive heading into this weekend.

Sebastien Migne’s men need a win to have a chance at advancing into the last eight of this competition for the first time since 2019, while they also require Saudi Arabia to drop points against the Soca Warriors, while also ensuring that the latter do not surpass them on goal difference.

Les Grenadiers are currently on a three-match winless run across all competitions but have won their final group fixture in two of the past three editions of the Gold Cup.

They have emerged victorious from their previous 10 matches when finding the back of the net multiple times and have not lost when doing so since October 2023 (3-2 loss versus Jamaica).

Not since the 2019 Gold Cup quarter-finals have they beaten a team from North America, coming from behind to claim a 3-2 triumph over Canada on that occasion.

Their last victory over the Americans dates all the way back to November 1973 (1-0), while they have not beaten them in the US since a 1-0 triumph in 1969.

USA CONCACAF Gold Cup form:

USA form (all competitions):

Haiti CONCACAF Gold Cup form:

Haiti form (all competitions):

Team News

In their matchday two triumph, the US were missing Haji Wright who is dealing with an Achilles issue, as Pochettino went with the same starting 11 from matchday one to two.

Meanwhile, Brenden Aaronson came off the bench to earn his 50th cap with the national team on Thursday, while Tyler Adams, Damion Downs and Johnny Cardoso all made their first appearances at the Gold Cup this year.

Chris Richards had the only goal for the Yanks on matchday two, the second internationally for the Crystal Palace defender, and Matt Freese only had to make one stop for his second clean sheet of the tournament.

For this decisive match, Haiti will be without Jean-Kevin Duverne, who was given a straight red card late in the opening half Thursday, with Ruben Providence being the only newcomer in the starting 11 for that match, replacing Christopher Attys.

On Sunday Ricardo Ade can reach the half-century mark for caps with Les Grenadiers, while Johny Placide made his 75th all-time appearance for the senior squad on Thursday.

Frantzdy Pierrot put his team in front against TNT earlier this week, though they could have won it in the latter stages, but Mondy Prunier missed an 86th-minute penalty.

USA possible starting lineup:

Freese; Freeman, Zimmerman, Robinson, Tolkin; Berhalter, Adams; McGlynn, B. Aaronson, Tillman; White

Haiti possible starting lineup:

Placide; Arcus, Ade, Metusala, Experience; Deedson, Pierre, Jacques, Prunier; Nazon, Pierrot

We say: USA 2-0 Haiti

Given they are already through to the last eight, we expect many American starters will get a rest, but even their B team should be more than enough to handle a Haitian side that are not nearly as deep as the Yanks.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

Previews by email