CLEVELAND -- For the U.S. men's national team, the final group-stage game of the Gold Cup is usually a time for fine-tuning: Perhaps a few players need a rest, or it's time to refine some tactical concepts.
Yet as the group stage concludes for the U.S. on Saturday against Nicaragua, the Americans find themselves in a very different place. Rather than tinkering, what manager Bruce Arena really needs from his side is for it to raise its game considerably and deliver a complete performance.
Those types of displays have been nonexistent for the U.S. at this Gold Cup.