FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps expects both Juan Agudelo and Je-Vaughn Watson to be available when the Revs host the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium (TICKETS, 7:30 p.m. on CSN New England and 98.5 The Sports Hub).
But first, there’s this little matter of regional supremacy that needs to be sorted out.
Agudelo and the U.S. Men’s National Team will meet Watson and the Jamaicans in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final on Wednesday night at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Kickoff is set for 9:30 p.m. ET, with coverage on FS1, Univision, UDN and TSN.
Agudelo appeared in all three of the USMNT’s group stage matches, starting the thrilling 3-2 win over Martinique and appearing off the bench against Panama and Nicaragua. The versatile forward has yet to appear in the knockout rounds as the Americans advanced past El Salvador and Costa Rica.
Watson, meanwhile, has played every minute of Jamaica’s five matches, including a dramatic 1-0 win over regional powerhouse Mexico in the semifinals. The 33-year-old has been deployed as a central midfielder with the Reggae Boyz, and he’ll be expected to start once again on Wednesday night.
“It’s going to be a good game seeing Watson and Juan playing,” said Diego Fagundez, “We’ll support them, and hopefully when they’re back, they’re ready to go.”
Kelyn Rowe also had a part to play in the USMNT’s run to the Gold Cup Final, registering one goal and one assist while starting a pair of games in the group stage. Rowe returned to the Revs ahead of last weekend’s win over the LA Galaxy, assisting on the first of Teal Bunbury’s two goals.
Wednesday night’s Gold Cup Final offers the U.S. Men’s National Team a chance at redemption after the Americans were eliminated by Jamaica in the semifinal round of the 2015 Gold Cup.
