Grenada vs USA Picks and Predictions: States' Scoring Struggles Persist in Spice Isle

Friday night will see the return of the CONCACAF Nations League, as the United States travels to Grenada for a League A match.

The Kirani James Athletic Stadium will play host to a matchup of two sides that couldn’t be much further apart in talent. The United States will hope to make up the one-point gap to El Salvador with their match in hand, while Grenada will be desperate to get some kind of unlikely result in order to avoid being relegated to League B, and to possibly qualify for this summer’s Gold Cup.

Can the USMNT overcome some key injuries and roll to an easy win, or will Grenada pull off a miracle? We break down the match and betting angles in our Grenada vs United States picks and predictions for Friday, March 24. 

Grenada vs USA best odds

Odds courtesy of bet365 on March 23, 2023.

Grenada vs USA picks and predictions

While it’s easy to look at the first meeting between these two sides and see the 5-0 dominance from the United States, it’s also easy to overlook the fact that match came on American soil. More importantly, it came on an American playing surface. The surfaces of many smaller CONCACAF nations are bumpy and rough, and it tends to lead to some missed opportunities, as passes go awry and balls take weird bounces.

That’s one of the reasons why I’m on the Under 3.5 goals in this match. The bookmakers are expecting another high-scoring affair, and they’re doing so while juicing the price for the United States to keep a clean sheet. That means they’re expecting the Yanks to do all the scoring.

That’s another reason why it’s more likely we will see a lower score than anticipated. Saying the USMNT has a No. 9 problem is more than stating the obvious. Four of the five goals in the previous meeting came via Jesus Ferreira, who wasn’t called up to the squad by interim manager Anthony Hudson. 

This will be the first time the core squad of players will be together since the World Cup, as the two U.S. friendlies in January were with American-based players. The scoring woes were evident at the World Cup, as the USMNT managed just three goals in four matches. Prior to that, they’d scored six goals in five matches – and five of those were against Grenada.

Going back to October of 2021, the last six matches the United States have played on foreign soil in CONCACAF action have featured a combined nine goals. Only two of those have been scored by the red, white, and blue. Given the absence of key attacker Timothy Weah and no clear-cut choice at striker, I don’t see how this will be any different. 

I’m not one to buck history, especially when you consider you’re dealing with international travel, an interim manager, and injury issues with the squad. The USMNT should win easily, but I don’t see a high-scoring affair here. Take the generous price at an elevated goal total. 

My best bet: Under 3.5 goals (+120 at bet365)

Grenada vs USA side analysis

Weah is not the only key player that will be missing for the Yanks. Tyler Adams of Leeds United was left off the squad after suffering a recent hamstring injury. However, Miles Robinson makes his return after suffering an Achilles tear last spring that cost him the World Cup.

Still, the talent called in for this camp is leaps and bounds ahead of what Grenada will be able to field. That’s a large reason why the USMNT are prohibitively favored across the board at every sportsbook. At a price of anywhere between -2000 and -3500, it’s not even a good parlay piece. Even the first half moneyline at -350 or worse is not playable.

Grenada isn’t void of talent, though. Kayden Harrack in midfield is a member of the youth squad for Queen’s Park Rangers in the English Championship, and two of their starting defenders play in the USL Championship in America.

Your best bet if you want to play results is to skip the 3-way line and focus instead on the spread. Most books offering the match have a spread in the -1.25 to -1.5 range, which offers decent value on both sides. I’d take the USMNT to win by two or more, as a 2-0 victory is more than probable, with a 3-0 win possibly in the cards as well. 

Grenada vs USA Over/Under analysis

We’ve broken down the total already with our best bet for this match. The total is an elevated 3.5 goals, up from the typical 2.5 mark. That’s a mark that Grenada has struggled to come Under in the past few years, but they have a decent shot here given the USMNT’s struggles away from home. 

While Grenada’s last two home matches – both against Barbados – have seen four goals each, those were matches where they came out and attacked. The previous match was a 1-1 draw with Barbados, and all three matches were played in a five-day span. They also had the 5-0 loss at the United States, a 5-1 win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and a 2-2 draw with El Salvador. But they did have two friendlies last season, both away, that saw a combined one goal scored. 

If you’re going to go against the best bet and play the Over in this one instead, the juice is quite heavy on the Over 3.5 goals for both the match and for the USMNT team total. Your best route would be to hit the Asian market and go for the Over 3.75 and avoid some of the extra cash needed. 

Grenada vs USA game info

Grenada vs USA key injuries

Grenada: None. 
USA: Timothy Weah F (Out), Tyler Adams M (Out).

Grenada vs USA weather

It’ll be a warm Caribbean night in the Spice Isle on Friday. Temperatures around kickoff will be in the low 80s, and there won’t be a drop of rain in sight. 

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