United States Wins 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Ryan Braun's ban by Major League Baseball for the rest of the season (presumably) for the use of performance enhancing drugs has been dissected from almost every angle so I decided to cover a non-Cheesehead sports team, the United States Men's Soccer Team.

The US was on a five game winning streak heading into the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup to make them a virtual lock to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.  Despite fielding a weaker squad than their World Cup qualifying squad, the US picked up right where they left off winning five more matches in a row to start the Gold Cup to reach the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final at Soldier Field against Panama.

I tried to talk Cheesehead Chick and my buddies (Uncle Patty and Sug) into attending the match but I got no takers so I picked up a singleton in the south end of the stadium on StubHub.  As you can tell from the title, the US won.  Since I attended the match alone, I sent a number of tweets that I am going to use as my de facto review of the match:

Nothing says patriotism like seeing #USMNT solo in the Gold Cup Final v. #Panama. Pre-game prediction, US wins 3-0. pic.twitter.com/cKNMgXHcPU
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

Sitting on other side of pitch from where Papa Cheese & I saw Klinsmann bag the winner for Germany to beat Bolivia to open 1990 World Cup.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

Love seeing Beasley as captain. Fine with starting 11 for #USMNT but bummed to see Gonzalez, Shea, and Wondo couldn't make the cut.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

'19th minute couple decent chances for #USMNT, should have more though given their dominance of possession
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

Holden substituted for injury again, the injury nightmares continue for him. Let's see what Diskerud can do. #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

HT with score 0-0 feels about right. If possession equaled goals, #USMNT should be up 1/2 to 0 but not enough quality chances to be up more.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

Gonna be tough for #USMNT to win 3-0 given how much #Panama is packing it in, US better watch out for counterattack in 2nd half.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

Might be worth replacing Corona or Bedoya with Shea or move Donovan to one of their spots to get Wondo in the mix. #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

Too far away to tell but crowd's reaction makes me think that was a handball in the box for a PK. #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

'56 - felt like '02 with Beasley and Donovan almost combining for a goal. #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

'70 - Shea for Corona was a few minutes too late. Love Shea taking Donovan's whiff/goal. #USMNT up 1-0.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

'72 - best chance all day for #Panama. Could be 1-1 but shot was just wide of the mark. #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

'81 - even a decent first touch by Shea from Donovan's pass and there is a primo scoring opportunity for #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

84 - Johnson misses a sitter to ice the match should be interesting last few minutes
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

'89 - wasting time by subbing Gonzalez for Bedoya. Looks like my lineup thoughts were spot on. #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

'90 - things are getting chippy at the wrong time. Shocked there are at least 4 minutes of stoppage time.
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

A.J. Hawk-style (Business HJ) Gold Cup Championship victory for #USMNT 1-0 over #Panama
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

If Shea has a decent first touch & Johnson bags the sitter, my 3-0 pre-match prediction for #USMNT comes to fruition pic.twitter.com/oHvarfcmiC
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

Donovan deservedly takes home the 2013 Gold Cup MVP, absent injury, shocked if he doesn't crack the starting 11 at 2014 World Cup. #USMNT
— CheeseheadSportsNut (@CheeseheadSN) July 28, 2013

As you can tell from my recap, I would not give the US many style points for how they played today.  I might even go so far to say this was their worst performance of their 11 game winning streak but a win is a win, especially in the championship game of a even a second tier tournament like the Gold Cup.  Plus grinding out wins like the US did today is great experience for the 2014 World Cup.

If you enjoyed reading some soccer content on this predominately Cheesehead sports blog makes sure to check back later in August as I write my review of the off-season for Manchester City and preview their 2013-14 season.

Congrats to the United States men's soccer team on winning their fifth CONCACAF Gold Cup and good luck in the next round of World Cup qualifiers in September.