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Carrie Stroup here with your USA vs. Jamaica Gold Cup 2015 betting odds.
Kick-off: Wednesday, 6:00 p.m. ET
Sportsbook.ag Line: United States -232, Jamaica +600, Tie +315, Total: 2.5
The United States takes on Jamaica in the semifinals of the Gold Cup Wednesday night.
The United States advanced to the semifinals of the Gold Cup in emphatic fashion, beating Cuba by a score of 6-0. Clint Dempsey had a standout performance, converting a hat-trick, upping his tournament total to six goals. Aron Johannsson, who made his second start of the tournament, scored a goal and added an assist, and team captain Michael Bradley had two assists of his own.
While the USA should be content with its victory, the matchup was undeniably the easiest it has had thus far in the Gold Cup. Anything less than a runaway win would have been concerning, but the six-goal victory indicates more about Cuba’s quality than it does about the Americans’ play.
Jamaica will be a much tougher opponent, as the Reggae Boyz advanced into the quarterfinals with a 1-0 win over a tricky Haiti side thanks to an early Giles Barnes goal. That win gave Jamaica its third win in four games at the tournament, with the country’s only other result being a 2-2 tie in its group stage opener against Costa Rica. In addition to its success at the Gold Cup, Jamaica has proven to be capable of putting up a fight against superior opponents at the Copa América, South America’s premiere international tournament. Although it lost all three of its games in that tournament, the scores were all 1-0 against the likes of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. These results will give the Jamaicans confidence against the United States, and a win for the Caribbean nation is not out of the question.
Both the USA and Jamaica tend to play low-scoring games, especially against relatively even competition, so expect under 2.5 goals to be scored in this game. And while Jamaica is certainly capable of forcing extra time, or maybe even springing an upset, the home-field advantage and overall edge in talent should be enough for the United States to come away with the win, perhaps by a score of 1-0.
