Qatar vs. USA 7/29/21 CONCACAF Gold Cup Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Qatar and the USA are facing off at Q2 Stadium in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Qatar has been playing really well in this tournament, they are still without a loss, and they are on a 3-game winning streak. The USA has conceded only 1 goal so far in this tournament, and they are on a 7-game winning streak.

Qatar was in a group with Honduras, Panama, and Grenada, which isn’t a strong group to be honest, but it took some work from Qatar to win it. Offensively, Qatar has done well with 9 scored goals, while they conceded 3 goals in 3 games. Almoez is the leading goalscorer for Qatar with 4 goals, while Hatem added 3 goals. In the quarterfinals of this competition, Qatar was facing El Salvador, and they have had only 35% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 4 corner kicks, 3 big chances created, and 77% of the correct passes. Once again, it took a lot of work from Qatar to win this game, and after they were leading 3-0, they conceded 2 goals, but fortunately for Qatar, they were able to stay focused. The final score of this match was 3-2 in favor of Qatar. I can’t say Qatar was properly tested on this tournament yet, but I think the test is coming in this match, and it will be a tough one.

The USA has been in fantastic form, and they have been one of the best teams in this tournament, if not the best. In their 3 games in the group stage, USA has scored impressive 8 goals while conceding only 1 goal, and they have won this group with 3 wins. In their quarterfinals game against Jamaica, the USA has had 67% of ball possession, 5 shots on goal, 7 corner kicks, 1 big chance created, and a solid 85% of the correct passes. It took a while for the USA to score a goal here despite all of their dominance, but it happened in the 83^rd minute. The USA has deservedly won this match 1-0. Dike is the leading goalscorer for the USA with 2 goals, while a bunch of other players have scored 1 goal. A lot of the USA players are from the MLS, but there are a few from Europe like Hoppe who is playing for Schalke. It’s hard to find a decent competition for the USA in this tournament apart from Mexico and maybe Canada, and they are understandably the biggest favorite to win this competition, but it will not be easy. The USA is missing a few more players, but they still have plenty of talent, and more importantly, they are playing really well.

As I’ve mentioned, this will be the first true test for Qatar, and I think they will fail. These two teams have never met in the past, but they are both in solid form, and they are both scoring a lot of goals. I think Qatar is coming into this match filled with confidence, but I think that is a double-edged sword in this case. I’m taking the USA to win this game and to advance to the finals.