USA vs. Cuba, Nations League: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, and Match Thread

Welcome to your live thread as the United States Men’s National Team takes on Cuba in the Concacaf Nations League. This is the first-ever Nations League match that the USMNT will play in.

So, what is the Nations League?

The Nations League is the same idea as the UEFA Nations League. All 41 teams in Concacaf are in the league. There are three leagues (A, B, and C) with promotion and relegation involved. The U.S. is in League A — the highest league — and is in a group with Canada and Cuba.

The Nations League will do several things. First, it is the new way in which teams will qualify for the Gold Cup. The group winners and runners-up in League A, plus the group winners in League B will qualify for the Gold Cup. Additionally, League C group winners will play a home-and-away series against the League B runners-up. The winners will then face the League A third-place teams in a home-and-away series. There will be a total of 16 teams in the Gold Cup.

More importantly, at least for the U.S., the Nations League will heavily impact the countries’ FIFA ranking. Those rankings are now more important than ever as the top six ranked teams will advance to the Hex — the final round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying.

United States Head Coach Gregg Berhalter called up a competitive side, knowing it is vital to pick up three points in every Nations League match. With an average age of 25 years old, the roster is a mixture of youth and experience.

“This is competitive soccer. Anytime there is a trophy on the line is exciting, and in the inaugural Nations League we want to put ourselves in a position to win the tournament,” Berhalter said. “One thing that’s important is we continue to bring some of the younger guys along, integrate some new players into camp, but also have a familiar base. Most of the guys have been in camp before, understand how we want to play, and we think that continuity will help in our performance.”

The Yanks have dominated the all-time series against Cuba, 10-1-1. The only time that Cuba ever won was way back in 1947. The lone draw came shortly after that, in 1950, and the U.S. is currently on a 10-match win streak.

The last time these teams met was in October 2016. After a scoreless hour of soccer, Chris Wondolowski found the back of the net to open the scoring. Nine minutes later, Julian Green doubled the lead, and the Yanks took home a 2-0 victory.

The last time the teams played on American soil was in July 2015. It was a World Cup qualifying match in Baltimore, and it was all U.S. Clint Dempsey netted a hat trick, Brad Guzan recorded a shutout, and the Yanks won 6-0.

Rosters

USMNT (Caps/Goals)

Goalkeepers (3): Brad Guzan (Atlanta United FC; 61/0), Sean Johnson (New York City FC; 8/0), Zack Steffen (Fortuna Düsseldorf/GER; 16/0).

Defenders (8): Reggie Cannon (FC Dallas; 8/0), Nick Lima (San Jose Earthquakes; 8/0), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls; 13/2), Daniel Lovitz (Montreal Impact/CAN; 10/0), Matt Miazga (Reading/ENG; 17/1), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 36/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United FC; 2/0); DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle United/ENG; 59/0).

Midfielders (8): Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union; 0/0), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/CAN; 150/17), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy; 11/2), Weston McKennie (Schalke/GER; 15/3), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea/ENG; 32/13), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders FC; 16/0), Wil Trapp (Columbus Crew SC; 20/0), Jackson Yueill (San Jose Earthquakes; 3/0).

Forwards (6): Paul Arriola (D.C. United; 28/5), Corey Baird (Real Salt Lake; 4/0), Tyler Boyd (Beşiktaş/TUR; 7/2), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC; 35/6), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen/GER; 9/2), Gyasi Zardes (Columbus Crew SC; 53/10).

Cuba

Goalkeepers (3): Nelson Johnson (Santiago de Cuba), Elier Pozo (Pinar del Rio), Sandy Sanchez (Don Bosco/DOM).

Defenders (8): Jose Armelo (Pinar del Rio) Karel Espino (Artemisa), Yonaidis Garcia (Camaguey), Felipe Hurtado (Camaguey), Daniel Morejon (Villa Clara), Yosel Piedra (Universidad San Carlos/GUA), Dario Ramos (Artemisa), Erick Rizo (Santiago de Cuba).

Midfielders (8): Rolando Abreu (Santiago de Cuba), Aricheel Hernandez (Independiente; PAN), Anibal La Perea (Ciego de Avila), Lazaro Monzon (Villa Clara), Luis Paradela (Reno 1868/USA), Jose Perez (Ciudad Habana), Randys Reve (Santiago de Cuba), Jean Carlos Rodriguez (Pinar del Rio).

Forwards (2): Manuel Cruz (Camaguey), Maykel Reyes (Pinar del Rio).

How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m. ET.

Venue: Audi Field — Washington, D.C.

TV: FOX Sports 1, TUDN.

Streaming: FOX Sports GO, TUDN en Vivo.

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @USMNT and @TheManeLand. Also, be sure to follow @StarsAndStripesFC.

Match Thread Rules

This is your live thread for posting comments on the match. So use our comments section below to talk about the game in real time with other supporters. If you’re new, welcome to our happy home! While you’re here, please observe a few basic rules:

• Absolutely no links to illegal streams. They can get us in trouble, and no one wants that.
• Try not to be the person who spews nothing but venom and hate for the team. It’s OK to be critical, and, let’s face it, sometimes even the best teams can be frustrating to watch, but being overly negative relentlessly can sap the enjoyment for others.
• Keep it somewhat clean and fair when criticizing players and/or officials. You never know who might be reading.
• Do unto others in the match thread, the way you would have others do unto you. We are a fun community and want to keep it this way. We have a moderator, but we’d rather let him enjoy the game instead of having to play babysitter.

Enjoy the match! Go America!