SANDY, Utah – RSL captain Kyle Beckerman, leading scorer Álvaro Saborío and midfielder Will Johnson will all be in action on Friday night for their respective national teams in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers. Here’s a quick rundown of each of their matches:
Kyle Beckerman – U.S. at Jamaica – 6 p.m. MT – beIN SPORT TV
A favorite of U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann, Beckerman is very likely to start for the Americans on Friday night at Jamaica. The RSL captain will likely slot in at defensive midfield, helping the U.S. back four against Jamaica’s fast paced attack and distributing from a deep-lying role in the midfield.
Beckerman was very solid in his last cap; playing fine defense and starting the play that led to the goal in the U.S.’s historic 1-0 win over Mexico at Estadio Azteca on Aug. 15. Expect good things for the U.S. if Captain Kyle can replicate that form in Kingston on Friday night.
Álvaro Saborío – Costa Rica v. Mexico – 8 p.m. MT – Telemundo
Saborío will lead the line for the Ticos against the high-powered Mexican national team at Estadio Nacional in San Jose on Friday night.
Saborío – who is currently tied for second in MLS with 14 goals – had a very strong outing in Costa Rica’s last World Cup Qualifier, netting a hat trick against Guyana in the Ticos’ 4-0 victory over the South American nation on June 12. He’ll need to play a good game for second-place Costa Rica to have a shot against Mexico, currently the region’s highest-ranked team.
Will Johnson – Canada v. Panama – 5:30 p.m. MT - ESPN Deportes
Like Beckerman and Saborío, Johnson figures to start on Friday night when Canada takes on Panama at BMO Field in Toronto.
This is a big one for the Canucks. Canadian news outlets are calling Friday’s match Canada’s biggest in the last 10 years. A win would put the CMNT in a great position to advance to the final round of qualifying for the first time since the 1998 World Cup cycle.
Johnson will be hoping on Friday night to match his last performance for the Canadian side, which saw him play the full 90 and score a penalty kick goal in Canada’s 2-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago on Aug. 15.
