ARLINGTON, TX — Meeting once again in the knockout stage of the Concacaf Gold Cup, the United States and Jamaica are ready to go the distance, if needed, on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
"You look at it as a potential for 120 minutes," U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter told Concacaf.com. "It's about responding to moments, not reacting to moments, and being cool and keeping your composure."
Berhalter, a member of the 1998 runner-up U.S. squad as a player, is looking to win his first Gold Cup title as a coach. Yet, he is also looking ahead to the 2022 World Cup and the qualifiers for the tournament in Qatar. It is for that reason that he is giving several young players extended opportunities, including Matt Turner. The goalkeeper made his national team debut this year and has started all of the Gold Cup games for the U.S.
"Just to have the opportunity to wear this crest, whether it be a Gold Cup, or a friendly, or the World Cup, whatever it is, it's something that I'll never take for granted," Turner told Concacaf.com. "It's something that I'm extremely proud of, to have accomplished and I want to make the fans proud, make my family proud, and just do right by my country."
The matchup between the U.S. and Jamaica never disappoints and players like Turner will be tested throughout the contest. Jamaica defender Damion Lowe was on the field for the 2017 Gold Cup final between the two sides, which won in the 89th minute by the United States. He points to that team as a point of reference for what the Reggae Boyz can accomplish this year.
"We tried to take a lot of stuff from, maybe mostly, the 2017 Gold Cup campaign," Lowe told Concacaf.com. "We had a lot to prove. We had a lot to gain so we just try to use that cohesiveness, the brotherhood, the family, to really push us. [It is in] the back of our mind to always remember what got us here and what made us one of the best teams in Concacaf."
Jamaica manager Theodore Whitmore fully expects his team to embrace the challenge of trying to edge one of the favorites in the tournament.
"We can't relax, we have to go at it," Whitmore said. "It's our final so there's nothing to hold back. We know, as I said before, it's going to be a tough game so we just look forward to playing for whatever minutes [are] on the clock."
