USA vs. El Salvador CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarter Finals Betting Tip:
The action is down to the final eight at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup and host nation the USA are still in the mix. Despite them selecting an under strength squad for the tournament and despite some nervy moments in the group stage of the event, the Americans will be happy with their progress to the quarter finals and they will be more than delighted with the draw they have received here.
This should be a winnable match for the Americans and while they are big odds-on favourites at 1/4 with William Hill to win this fixture in the early hours of Thursday morning (July 20th) this has to be recognised as a good chance for them to build some pretty good momentum going forward.
There will be tougher games ahead of them down the line if they get past this because they would be meeting with either Costa Rica or Panama in the semi finals, then potentially Mexico in the final itself. El Salvador at 12/1 at bet365 to put a win on the board in this one.
USA Form
The USA collected seven points from their three group stage matches. They had another tight tussle with Panama in their opener where they were held to a 1-1 draw, before having to dig deeper than expected to pull off a 3-2 victory over football minnows Martinique. What will give them confidence going forward will be their 3-0 win over Nicaragua in their final group stage match.
While their defence has looked a bit shaky, to say the least, remembering this isn’t their strongest setup, they have at least produced well enough going forward against lower ranked opponents. It’s been a team effort too as each of their seven goals at the Gold Cup have been scored by different players. They have gone W4 D2 in their last six games.
El Salvador Form
El Salvador have made it through to the knockout stage of the competition as one of the best third-placed teams from the group stage. They went W1 D1 L1 in their three group stage matches, losing against Mexico, drawing with Jamaica and beating Curacao. That win over Curacao is their only victory in their last six matched played W1 D3 L2.
Pulling out a win over the USA here looks pretty unlikely because they just don’t have the defence to put up much resistance. That was notable in their opener against Mexico where they played an open game but gave up so many chances to their opponents. As a positive for them, Nelson Bonilla has scored in two matches at the tournament so far.
News
The head to head advantage is firmly with the USA in this one as they have never lost against El Salvador. In fact, El Salvador have managed to avoid defeat just once in their previous eleven meetings with the USA in a D1 L10 record against the Americans. Four years ago they faced off against the USA at the Gold Cup and they were hammered 5-1. Their only draw against the USA was in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers when they surprised everyone in a 2-2 result.
Top Betting Tips
The USA have produced the goals against Martinique and Nicaragua in their last two games to suggest that they can take down El Salvador comfortably too. However, it is worth looking at both teams to score for a price of 5/4 at Betfred simply because that has happened in each of the last four meetings between them.
With the USA’s defence not having looked convincing so far in the tournament, there is value in that. Also, because El Salvador may snatch a goal, settling on the USA to win by a two goal margin at 11/4 with Betway will have some appeal too.