The United State national team will continue their quest for back-to-back titles when they face Cuba in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Gold Cup on Saturday at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

USA advanced to the quarterfinals after finishing on top of Group A. They scored a hard-earned 2-1 win against Honduras, which was followed by a 1-0 win over Haiti. They ended the group stage with a 1-1 draw with Panama.

While they went unbeaten in Group A, most analysts are saying USA are playing below expectation. Coach Jurgen Klinsmann is aware of the talks about their performance, but he understands their uninspiring play because of lack of strong preparation heading into the tournament.

But against Cuba, Klinsmann is hoping his team will show cohesiveness after going to battle together in their first three games.

"Being together for more than two weeks, hopefully we can get more and more into that phase where we combine better," Klinsmann said via Goal.com. "We're shifting better and doing certain things better that only come with time."

USA will be a heavy favorite heading into the match based on how Cuba fared in the group stage. They kicked of their campaign with a 6-0 loss against Mexico. It was followed by a 2-0 loss to Cuba before escaping with a 1-0 win over Guatemala in the final group stage game.

Cuba will only have 19 players in uniform as reports confirmed four players have already defected from the squad. Klinsmann said they respect the Cuban squad and also expressed admiration for how the remaining players and coaches are handling their current situation brought by the defections.

"We have a lot of respect for them," Klinsmann said in a news conference. "Obviously we know what they are going through on and off the field, so we have a huge admiration for how they've dealt with everything."

Keiler Garcia, Arael Arguellez and Dario Suarez left the team during the group stage. Cuban striker Ariel Martinez, who was a key figure in their first three matches, became the fourth player to leave the team. Despite the internal issues, coach Raul Gonzales said they won't be distracted in their upcoming match against USA.

"For us, the most important thing is the players that are here," Gonzales said. "With this group we will continue."

Where To Watch, Live Stream & Predictions

USA failed to impress in their first three games, but the defending champions have enough firepower to score a convincing win against a depleted Cuban squad on Saturday. USA 3-0.

Catch the USA-Cuba Gold Cup quarterfinal match on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. The game will be shown live on Fox and through online live streaming via Fox Sports Go. Complete listings are available on this link.

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