The United States moved into the semifinals of the Gold Cup for the seventh time in eight tournaments thanks to a 3-1 win over Jamaica Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.
DaMarcus Beasley led the Americans two goals and an assist on Josh Wolff's opening goal to pave the way to victory in front of 22,108 fans.
The U.S. will now face Honduras, a 3-2 winner over Costa Rica, in the tournament semifinals on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET live on Telefutura from Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
''I think we played well today,'' said U.S. coach Bruce Arena. ''It was our best game of the tournament. We were able to get a little closer to having our starting group in there and I think they did well. They were technically good passing the ball, [and we had] good quickness. If weÆre to be faulted for anything, I think we were pretty sloppy in dealing with the game when it was 2-0 at halftime. However, at the end of the day, 3-1 is a good result and we look forward to playing Honduras in New Jersey.ö
The U.S. injury list grew as Steve Cherundolo was forced to leave the game with a possible knee sprain. Already injured during the tournament are Eddie Pope, Tony Sanneh, Brad Davis and Conor Casey, who, like Cherundolo, skipped preseason with his Bundesliga club to play in the Gold Cup.
In the 58th minute, Ben Olsen was sent off after pulling down Andy Williams at the top of the box. Khari Stephenson took the resulting free kick that clanged off the right post.
Eight minutes later, JamaicaÆs Jermaine Taylor was sent off for a reckless tackle on Beasley.