USA v Jamaica

USA vs Jamaica Preview

The CONCACAF Gold Cup will get underway on Saturday evening at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illionois, as the hosts, USA, prepare for their opening game of the tournament in this Group A clash against Jamaica

The hosts have had to deal with various off-field issues though leading up to this tournament as former coach Gregg Berhalter was involved in an alleged domestic abuse incident and interim coach Brian Callaghan has been tasked with guiding the co-hosts through the group stages and deeper into this competition.

However, an encouraging show in last year's World Cup in Qatar saw USA progress through the group stage as runners-up behind Group B winners, England, thanks to an unbeaten group campaign which produced a 1-0 win against Iran along with points in draws with Wales and England.

USA were eventually bundled out by Netherlands in a 3-1 defeat in the knockout stages but that loss along with an international friendly defeat to Serbia have been the hosts' only slip-ups in their last 12 matches in all competitions which gives them a decent chance of making a positive start here.

Jamaica will head into this tournament opener against USA having predominantly played international friendlies along with a couple of CONCACAF Nations League games which resulted in 1-1 and 2-2 draws with Mexico, home and away respectively.

Recent friendlies with fellow Gold Cup competitors, Qatar, and Jordan have ended in disappointing fashion for Jamaica as they were subjected to 2-1 defeats in each match which hardly constitutes positive preparation for Heimir Hallgrimsson's side as they look to at least contain their hosts here on Saturday evening.

Having failed to win any of their last 10 matches overall and suffering five defeats along the way, Jamaica therefore look to be in a fragile state ahead of this upcoming encounter but goals for both sides could feature as six of Jamaica's last 10 games have also seen both teams score.

In addition, Jamaica will be boosted by the inclusion of Premier League players such as Michail Antonio, Demarai Gray, Leon Bailey and Bobby De Cordova-Reid in their attacking personnel.

USA v Jamaica Verdict

USA have produced some encouraging results prior to the start of this year's Gold Cup and the co-hosts are expected to get off to a bright start at Soldier Field against a Jamaica outfit who finished runners-up in this tournament in 2015 and 2017.

Opening games of major tournaments however, very often do not go the way of the form book and with Jamaica's influx of Premier League personnel, the goals market and in particular, the both teams to score option looks the most likely.

Therefore, our main bet will be Both Teams To Score YES @ 1.95

Other side bets worth considering:

Over 2.5 goals @ 1.87

Correct score: USA 2-1 @ 8.50