United States vs Haiti

The United States and Haiti are set to exchange tackles at Children’s Mercy Park in their 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup curtain-raiser.

Coming into the tournament on the back of a resounding Nations League success against bitter rivals Mexico, the United States will be looking to regain continental glory following the 2019 heartbreak. Except for a 2-1 loss to Switzerland in an international friendly back in May, the ‘Stars and Stripes’ haven’t lost any of their previous 13 matches (W11, D2), notably scoring 2+ goals on nine occasions in the process. Even though they enter this encounter as warm favorites to claim all three points, the USA’s victory might not be a foregone conclusion, with Gregg Berhalter’s men securing just two wins in their last six H2H meetings with Haiti (D2, L2). However, the United States have won two of the nations’ three showdowns at the Gold Cup (D1), registering a shutout twice.

In the meantime, Haiti will likely have to fancy their chances of progressing into the knock-outs against the likes of Canada and Martinique. However, ‘Les Grenadiers’ have enjoyed a notable upturn in form ahead of the tournament, going from back-to-back losses to two consecutive wins, both of which came by over 3.5 goals ‘to one.’ Delivering action from the get-go, Jean-Jacques Pierre’s players have scored precisely two first-half goals in their last two international fixtures despite scoring their first goal on the day beyond the 20th minute on each occasion. Having that said, Haiti have netted under 1.5 goals in four of their previous five matches against the United States, though their last encounter dates back to July 2015.