USA v El Salvador Betting Tips: Los Cuscatlecos to get competitive in Phoenix

Having somewhat stumbled their way through the groups, USA manager Bruce Arena has called for reinforcements ahead of this quarter-final match as Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Darlington Nagbe, Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore and Jesse Gonzalez have all been added to the Gold Cup squad, although it has been the said that the last player on that list (Gonzalez) won’t feature on the pitch and is simply in the squad to get a taste of life with the national team after recently having his switch from Mexico approved. Such players definitely add experience and tournament nous but there’s no guarantees that this switch-up will improve things.

El Salvador, unlike the Americans, probably weren’t expected to make too much headway at this tournament but they’ve been reasonably impressive so far, especially from an attacking point of view, and will certainly fancy their chances of causing the hosts a few problems in this quarter-final.

As you would expect, even more so with the late arrivals, USA come into this match as red-hot favourites at 1/4; however, reinforcements or not, given their performances so far, such a price doesn’t appear to be merited. El Salvador, who’ve scored in 100% of their matches at this tournament so far, have proven that they can get competitive and aren’t likely to roll over without a fight. The bet that stands out, at 13/10, is ‘Both Teams to Score’.

As previously mentioned, El Salvador have gone about their business well at this tournament and, having found the back of the net against Mexico, Curacao and Jamaica, come into this fixture having failed to score at no point. In possession they’ve looked comfortable while, in someone like as Rodolfo Zelaya, they have players who can pick the lock. Given the manner in which USA have defended at this tournament, it really would be no surprise if Los Cuscatlecos, much as they have done in each of their last four matches against USA, were able to get themselves on the score-sheet.

Defensively, USA’s performances this summer have left plenty to be desired and they certainly look a good bet to concede here. Having said that, they’ve still threatened going forward, even when not playing well. Bruce Arena’s side have scored in all three of their matches, notching a total of seven goals altogether. Couple this with the fact that El Salvador kept just one clean sheet, perhaps unjustly, and it’s very easy to see USA scoring goals in this fixture. In fact, with the added quality of both Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey, alongside the pace and power that was already in the squad, it’s pretty hard to envisage the hosts walking away from this fixture having not scored.

All things considered, despite their long odds-on price-tag, even if they are to progress, USA could encounter a few problems in this fixture and so ‘Both Teams to Score’ makes plenty of sense at the prices.

More tips can be found here.