While the Gold Cup is a tricky tournament that takes place in the heat of summer, just when the United States' European-based players need a break, a 1-1 draw with Jamaica on Saturday shows how hard it is to win in Concacaf. Damion Lowe's goal was canceled out by Brandon Vazquez's contribution from the bench but depending on goals scored the rest of the way, it could be enough to see Jamaica win Group A. There is time for the United States to rebound but with the Gold Cup being a proving ground, who improved their stock or potentially hurt their chances?
With the USMNT improving following the addition of Folarin Balogun, spots in the starting lineup are few and far between, so good performances from this tournament can go a long way. Here's our latest stock watch:
Stock down: Jesus Ferreira as a striker
It's not that Ferreira had a bad game as he did create chances that USMNT players weren't able to take, but putting him out there without a clear goal scorer can't continue to happen. With the national team, Ferrerira has become more of a support striker or a number 10 behind someone like Vazquez to create space for others to score. While Ferreira can shoot, he's better at making space for others to score than at creating his own. Strikers creating their own space has been one of the biggest breaths of fresh air with the inclusion of Balogun in the squad. He can pivot and contort his body to get shots off in a way that other strikers can't.
Stock up: Brandon Vazquez
Speaking of strikers, the ability to be in the right place at the right time is critical and that's just what Vazquez did to score his goal. Scoring his second goal for the USMNT, it feels like the pecking order of strikers is becoming clear. The group of four is Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Josh Sargent and Vazquez. Scoring goals with ease, Vazquez brings a more physical profile than some of the other forwards in the group, and continuing his form with both club and country, it could be quite hard for another forward to break in above them.
Stock down: Alan Sonora
Right place, wrong result was the story of Sonora's night as his positional sense was good but he was unable to take advantage of Jamaica's aggressive defense to make things happen. Sonora's experience with the national team has been sporadic and it's hard to read too much into things but with Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, and others ahead of him in the pecking order, Sonora will need to improve to stick around the senior team.
Stock up: Djordje Mihailovic
The game changed with the introduction of three players -- Vazquez who has been mentioned, Cristian Roldan, who has a pretty set role as a tweener with the national team and Mihailovic, whose star is rising by the day. Close to making the World Cup roster, Mihailovic is coming off of an excellent season with AZ Alkmaar and he's a versatile midfielder who can create chances as well as take them. With the evolution of the midfield to be more flexible, Mihailovic has a lot to gain from that as his influence will only grow.
Stock up: Jalen Neal
A young defender, Neal had a tough assignment coming on at half to tangle with Michail Antonio and he did it quite well. Jamaica's attacking threat from the first half facing Matt Miazga and Aaron Long was almost neutralized in a second half where the Reggae Boyz only took one shot. Some of that was due to adjustments from B.J. Callaghan but a lot was due to Neal's mobility. Even if Antonio got the ball in the air, the defense stuck with him and a deep center back core is only getting deeper when a 19-year-old can come off the bench and match up with a Premier League forward.
