Highest FIFA ranking ever: 128 (in March).
Lowest FIFA ranking ever: 201 (in 2007).
Forward Michael Salazar, 20, will play for UC Riverside this fall. The population of Riverside, Calif., is 313,000. The population of Belize is 334,000.
Most of the players compete in their domestic league and have part-time jobs. Goalkeeper Shane Moody-Orio is a full professional player, employed by Honduran club Marathon. He spent several years in Costa Rica with Puntarenas.
The federation raised funds to compete in the Gold Cup by staging barbecues, dances and telethons. (Donations are still welcome.) Nike gifted uniforms.
How did Belize qualify for the Gold Cup? By advancing to the semifinals of Copa Centroamericana early this year in Costa Rica. The Jaguars beat out Guatemala for second place in the group stage behind the host Ticos. In the knockout rounds, they lost to Honduras and El Salvador by just 1-0 scores — the goals were not conceded until the second half.
Their coach is American: Kansas native Ian Mork.
Ruperto Vicente, president of the federation, reportedly rallied the troops by saying, “I call on our national team to not only beat the United States but to humiliate the United States. It is your responsibility. It is your task.”
Good luck.
USA roster:
GOALKEEPERS: Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake).
DEFENDERS: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake), Edgar Castillo (Tijuana), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Michael Orozco Fiscal (Puebla), Michael Parkhurst (Augsburg).
MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Helsingborg), Joe Corona (Tijuana), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Brek Shea (Stoke City), Jose Torres (Tigres).
FORWARDS: Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Herculez Gomez (Tijuana), Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes).
The remaining U.S. schedule:
Saturday: Cuba at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah
Next Tuesday: Costa Rica at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
Assuming the Americans advance, their knockout schedule would be …
July 21: Quarterfinal at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore
July 24: Semifinal at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Tex.
July 28: Final at Soldier Field in Chicago
The Americans are 25-1-2 in Gold Cup group-stage history. The defeat came against Panama in 2011. The draws were with Costa Rica (2005) and Haiti (2009).
