FC Cincinnati forward Darren Mattocks firing Jamaica through to the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals with his second-half penalty against Panama was the highlight for Orange and Blue players in the continent’s biggest tournament this past weekend.
Here’s a rundown of Mattocks’ performance, in addition to other FCC players and the U.S. Men’s National Team:
Jamaica
Mattocks was a second-half substitute and scored two minutes into his appearance.
FCC right back Alvas Powell also started and played the full match for the Reggae Boyz, who won 1-0 and will play the U.S. Men’s National Team on Wednesday night in Nashville. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. at Nissan Stadium with the match broadcasted on FS1. That match determines who advances to the Gold Cup final to play either Mexico or Haiti.
Costa Rica
Cincinnati’s captain and center back Kendall Waston and midfielder Allan Cruz played the full 120 minutes in Costa Rica’s 1-1 draw with Mexico before losing 5-4 in a penalty shootout.
With the loss, the Ticos were eliminated from the tournament, meaning Waston and Cruz should be available to play for FC Cincinnati this Saturday against the Houston Dynamo at Nippert Stadium.
USMNT
The Americans are still in contention of winning a second consecutive Gold Cup after beating Curaçao 1-0 on Sunday night in Philadelphia.
The performance was hardly convincing, but it was enough to advance the U.S. into the semifinals to face Jamaica, who they lost to, 1-0, in a pre-Gold Cup friendly on June 5 in Washington, D.C. It was only the second time the U.S. have lost to a Caribbean nation on home soil since 1969.
The USMNT beat Jamaica in the 2017 Gold Cup final, 2-1.
