Central Florida has become a hotbed for American soccer fans, and you can bet that the city of Tampa is going to be showing out for its Red, White and Blue on Wednesday night. The United States' Men's National Team is all of a sudden thrust into a major match against Martinique. If disaster strikes in this second fixture in Group B, the Yanks will suddenly be in a real uphill battle just to make sure it gets into the quarterfinals of a tourney many tipped them to win.
This Gold Cup duel will go down Wednesday, July 12, 2017, at 8:30 p.m. ET at Raymond James Stadium. The match will be televised live on FOX Sports 1.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
USA -600
Martinique +1300
Draw +650
Over/Under 3.5
Odds Analysis
The Americans are heavy -600 favorites on the moneyline in this match, as they really should be. Even though this isn't nearly the side that is going to be competing for a spot in Russia over the course of the rest of the Hex later in the year, it's still a very talented side rich with MLS superstars and up-and-comers. Meanwhile, Martinique has a bunch of players who are playing on middling French teams and a lot of local island clubs, none of which have the allure of even the middling teams in the MLS.
The United States is set at -2 on the Asian Handicap, a hefty spread that will require winning by three goals to ultimately cover. Thus, the total has to be really high, as it is at 3.5.
How They Got Here
Bruce Arena was quick to point out the fact that a point against Panama wasn't the worst possible result. The Americans are still easily favored to take the three points against both Martinique and Nicaragua, and if they finish with seven points and win the group (or even if they finish second on goal differential to Panama), it won't be considered the end of the world.
That said, it's the way that 1-1 draw against Panama played out that was really the most disturbing. The Yanks were disjointed over the course of the entire first half. Sure, right after the interval, they sprung Dom Dwyer in for the opening goal of the fixture. After that, though, "disjointed" wouldn't be the right word to describe the affair. The United States was truly dominated. Granted, that was a really good Panama side and a B- American side, but that still doesn't sit well with the American Outlaws or the rest of the American supporters.
Martinique has a chance to immediately become the darling of the Gold Cup. The team shocked Nicaragua in the opening fixture of the group with a 2-0 victory. The action on the pitch was every bit as comprehensive as the final score would suggest.
Les Matinino might have committed 23 fouls on the day, but its degree of physical play really frustrated the Nicaraguans. Martinique finished with 19 shots, 11 of which hit the target, and it was quite unlucky to only end up with two on the board on a day where five or six could have easily hit home.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
This is going to be a big test for a young American team. It's a match Arena knows he's going to have to be careful about, especially knowing that it's going to get physical. We wouldn't be shocked if there are multiple red cards handed out over the course of the 90 minutes, especially if these United States kiddies lose their cool just a bit and play down to the level of their competition.
In the end, though, we suspect the Yanks will be effective. They haven't had a great history covering these big spreads in important matches, but having the city of Tampa behind them should help tremendously in a primetime match after the sun is finished setting.
Gold Cup Odds: United States 3, Martinique 0
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