Gold Cup Recaps: USMNT scrapes by Haiti

The United States might have been able to secure three points on Sunday night, but fans won’t exactly be pleased with their performance.

It didn’t take long for the USMNT to secure their first goal of the tournament as they scored in the eighth minute of the match. Left back Sam Vines was left all alone in the box and headed the ball home.

Things began to turn sour for the United States in the 11th minute when Paul Arriola went down after mishitting a cross into the stands. The right winger would be taken out of the game and replaced with Nicholas Gioacchini.

After that there wasn’t a lot from the United States attack. Walker Zimmerman was one of the more prominent attacking threats in the first 45 minutes.

New England Revolution fans will be pleased with Matt Turner’s performance as he looked decent distributing the ball and made some quality saves when the USMNT needed him to.

There were some times when Turner looked shaky with the ball at his feet, but his teammates didn't exactly do him some favors with the situations New England’s goalkeeper was put in. Turner walked away with the clean sheet and at the end of the day you have to be pleased with that.

With the start on Sunday, Turner is officially cap-tied to the United States.

Some life got inserted into the game when Gianluca Busio and Darryl Dike entered the game for Jonathan Lewis and Jackson Yueill in the 62nd minute. With their appearances, Busio and Dike are now cap-tied to the USMNT.

In the 75th minute James Sands came on for Nicholas Gioacchini and Eryk Williamson came on for Shaq Moore.

Moore was one of the few USMNT players who actually stood out. He was a menace on the right flank and was able to get the attack going for the stars and stripes.

Busio also added a much needed jolt of energy and nearly scored a beautiful goal to give the United States a 2-0 lead. He might only be 19 years old, but Gregg Berhalter should consider putting him in the starting XI.

The midfield trio of Yueill, Sebastian Lletget, and Kellyn Acosta was uninspiring. While Lletget gets a break since he might have been better served playing on the wing, Acosta and Yueill’s performance is concerning. They should be players that Berhalter can rely on but that wasn’t the case on Sunday night.

Haiti deserves a lot of credit as they kept themselves in the game. Specifically, goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre did a great job and made some impressive saves. If Haiti was more clinical in the final third, the game very well could have been a draw.

The USMNT should be pleased with the three points but if they want to lift a trophy, they will need to perform much better. They have the chance to get back on the right track as they face Martinique on Thursday.