Gold Cup: Day 8

So last night was finally the second last day of group stages.  Group B was set to come to an end with Guatemala taking on Grenada and Jamaica against Honduras.  For the games taking place at Red Bull Arena the stakes were pretty simple.  In the first match Guatemala needed to win by 3 goals to ensure that they would go through as a best placed third team (or even get second in the group) and if Grenada wanted to advance they were going to need to win by a landslide and then get a lot of help from group C results, so basically Grenada were done already.  In the second game of the night both teams were already through to the next round, barring a very lopsided win by Jamaica, so it was basically a battle for top spot as Jamaica would go through in first with either a win or a draw.

The night kicked off with Guatemala taking on Grenada and this match raised the interesting question of which team is worse, Grenada or Cuba?  They were the first two teams sent packing from the tournament and lets be honest they never even came close to taking a point in this thing.  In this one Grenada looked completely outclassed and their defence seemed incapable of slowing down the attack.  As a result Guatemala got goals in the 15th and 21st minutes and despite leading 2-0 at the break they really should have been up by a few more goals.  The good news for Guatemala was that with a 2-0 lead their goal difference was up to 0 and that had them even with El Salvador and they would have known that one more in the second half would almost certainly see them advance.  They got that goal in the 53rd minute from Carlos Ruiz, who finally got on the score sheet, and then for good measure they ensured their progress with a fourth goal this time from Carlos Gallardo.

With a 4-0 win in the bag Guatemala had ensured that they would be in the next phase of the competition.  They have 4 points but their +2 goal difference is better then El Salvador's goal difference of 0 and that means that regardless of the results in the last 3 games the worst they could end up is as the 8th team to get through.  For Grenada the loss just further illustrated that the team that they brought here was just not up to par.  Like Cuba they struggled to score goals and were conceding them at an alarming rate.  I guess Grenada can be proud that they did not finish last overall since they conceded one less goal then Cuba did and had one less player defect.  On a completely unrelated note I would like to urge Grenada to start paying their coach enough that he can afford to get a suit and tie.  He looked terrible in that track jacket, cheap ball cap, and purple piny.  At least if you are going to get destroyed in three straight games you can try and look like you are somewhat professional.

The second game of the night was a real letdown to me.  I was expecting to see Jamaica and Honduras battling it out with top spot on the line but instead with both teams having already sealed their progress they seemed to already be thinking about the quarterfinals and not to interested in trying all that hard in this game.  Jamaica did have a fair bit more life to them then Honduras to be fair and they were the better team in the first half creating a couple of chances and forcing a couple of good saves out of Valladares.  Jamaica would get the only breakthrough of the match in the 35th minute when Ryan Johnson fired a shot in from 20 some yards out that smashed off the crossbar but he got a bit of luck as the ball rebounded off of Valladares' back and into the net.  Johnson's strike was worthy of a goal but the Honduran keeper was a bit unfortunate to be charged with the own goal on that one.  Honduras got a bit more into the game in the second half but the only major moment was a decision to hand Jamaica a penalty.  The call was the correct one but the excitement came from the fact that Valladares got a bit of revenge on Ryan Johnson by doing really well to get down and turn his spot kick away.

In the end the game wound up 1-0 and though it was lacking some of the spark and the goals that I was expecting from these two teams it was probably a fair result.  The result means that Jamaica goes through Group B in first place having collected 9 points.  Honduras will go through in second having collected the same 4 points as Guatemala but their goal difference of +5 is enough.

I will be back later on with another blog setting out the task that faces Canada as they look to advance from group C and also what they are going to need to happen if they are going to be able to avoid a quarterfinal date with highflying Mexico.

Gold Cup: Day 7

The 7th round of action in the Gold Cup saw group A come to its conclusion.  So far the story in group A has been the Mexican team with its failed drug tests and high flying attack but the other teams in the group have also been proving that they know how to score a few goals of their own setting up an exciting last round of action in Chicago.

The evening opened with El Salvador taking on Cuba.  Coming in to the match both teams were basically in need of a big win to even have a chance of moving on into a place in the quarterfinals but even a massive win would likely have not been enough for Cuba who were yet to pick up a single point.  Apparently someone did tell El Salvador that with only 1 point from their first two matches they needed to crush Cuba because they came out flying and went straight to work on trying to repair their goal difference from the damage that Mexico had done to it.  El Salvador opened the scoring only 11 minutes in when Zelaya was on the spot to score his first of the game and second of the tournament.  His goal would be followed up by another from Romero on the 28th minute that saw El Salvador take a 2-0 lead into the break.  If that score line had held until the end of the match both teams would likely have been going home without help from the other groups as El Salvador were still sitting on a -3 goal difference.

The second half was a real cracker though as El Salvador again went straight on to the offensive.  Blanco scored in the 69th minute, Zelaya added his third of the tournament in the 70th but just when the route seemed to be on Cuba put a dent in their hopes.  Cuba were certainly going home at this point but that did not stop them from pulling one back in the 82nd minute through Marquez.  The Cuban rally, if you can even call it that, did not last long though as only a minute later El Salvador restored their 4 goal lead through Hernandez and then a 90th minute goal from Quintanilla was just enough to bring their goal difference back to 0.  With El Salvador sitting on 4 points and a goal difference of 0 they look to be in decent shape to have a hope of advancing but for Cuba the 6-1 defeat was the end of a rough tournament.  The Cuban team only managed to score that 1 goal while conceding 16 on route to 3 straight loses.  Hopefully it was at least a learning experience for the team and they have done well with apparently only one player defecting so far!

The second game of the night saw Mexico taking on Costa Rica with top spot in the group on the line.  A win or a draw would have seen Mexico finish in first place but only a win would do the trick for Costa Rica.  Costa Rica also knew that with El Salvador winning by 5 they needed to ensure that they did not get destroyed by Mexico to avoid falling down in to third place.  It all set up for an exciting match but in the end it was more about Costa Rica struggling to hold on to second place then a battle for the top spot.  Mexico reversed their normal trend and came out scoring in the first half, instead of waiting for the second half like they have of late.  Mexico opened the scoring 16 minutes in through Rafael Marquez and when Guardado added goals in the 19th and 25th minutes it looked like the route was once again on.  Before the end of the half Mexico would make it 4-0 through Pablo Barrera.  It looked like they were a sure thing to go through from the group on top and really just had to coast through the second half.  For Costa Rica though they now found themselves ahead of El Salvador by only 1 on the goal difference. 

Costa Rica came out a lot better in the second half, either that of Mexico came out a lot worse with nothing left to play for.  They seemed fully intent on making sure that Mexico did not expand their lead at all and they were battling for that second place finish in the group.  In the 68th minute all of that hard work was rewarded when Marcos Urena scored a goal that gave them a 2 goal cushion again despite being down 4-1 in the match.  Both teams seemed to be fairly content with this scoreline and the match sort of fizzled out down the stretch as it was clear that Mexico would be winning the group and Costa Rica had done enough to hang on to second place.  For the first time in the Gold Cup Chicharito did not steal the show as he was held off the score sheet before being substituted.

So we have one group all figured out and we know that Mexico and Costa Rica will be through to the next round for sure but El Salvador are going to have to wait and see how the next two days of results go before they know if they are going to be in the quarterfinals.  Cuba on the other hand are going home for sure.  Group A sure did provide us with a lot of goals as they combined to score an massive 29 goals despite Cuba only chipping in with 1.

Gold Cup: Day 4

I guess last night can be called day 4 since its the fourth night of play, even though it was the fifth day since the tournament kicked off.  It was a busy day in the Gold Cup as in the afternoon news came out that no less then 5 of the Mexican players had been ruled out thanks to failed drug tests.  So either the Mexican team have been doping together or something is a bit fishy here, or should I say "chickeny".  (I promise that will be my only failed attempt to make a joke about this). The five players that tested positive for the banned substance were: Francisco Javier Rodriguez, Antonio Naelson, Christian Bermudez, Edgar Duenas, and Guillermo Ochoa.  I am not going to get bogged down in trying to explain why the five players were banned for taking a substance that is often prescribed to help with breathing problems but suffice to say this is not the first time the drug Clenbuterol has caused problems.  Previously Alberto Contandor, a tour de France winner, has come under question for testing positive for the same thing and he is still trying to defend his innocence.  The Mexican Federation has said that they will stand by the players since they believe the failed test was not from doping but rather from the team having eaten some tainted chicken.  I for one doubt that 5 of the Mexicans all decided to take the same drug, for the Gold Cup at that where they were all ready favourites, and that it might just have come from tainted chicken as they suggest.  But enough about that, lets talk about actual games now!

On day 4 the games were all played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and the first match featured Costa Rica who cruised to a 5-0 win in their opener against Cuba taking on El Salvador who were on the wrong end of the same score line against Mexico.  In this match a draw would probably be enough to ensure that Costa Rica would be moving on to the quarterfinals but for El Salvador a win would have been a huge boost to their hopes of moving on as one of the best third placed teams.  The game was very even from start to finish with both teams creating a fair few finishes.  Costa Rica should have taken the lead in the first half after a great counter attack but the finish was straight at the keeper who did will to push the ball over the bar.  A number of other chances in the first half ended up being wasted as shots were being fired right at the keepers and were tame enough that they had no trouble handling them.  It took a real spectacular moment in the closing minutes of the half to finally open the scoring.  El Salvador were awarded a free kick from 20 some odd yards out which was fired home into the top corner by Rodolfo Zeyala.  The shot gave the keeper no chance what so ever as it curled over the wall and dropped in just below the bar.  For me this goal has to be the early favourite for goal of the tournament and it gave El Salvador the half time lead.

The second half was once again quite even with both sides getting their chances.  The run of play did begin to slowly favour Costa Rica who were pushing forward in hopes of getting the equalizer.  They appeared to have it in the 69th minute but despite the ball being in the back of the net the goal was ruled out due to offside.  It was the correct call and it kept El Salvador in the lead.  A few mintues later Costa Rica again had a chance to equalize but some terrible finishing saw them miss basically a tap in from 6 yards out.  They would get the breakthrough though in the 90th minute after a long ball was brought down in the box and Randall Brenes slid it past his defender and just out of the keepers reach.  The end result was a 1-1 draw which was probably a fair one as both teams worked hard and it was a fairly even contest.  The point should see Costa Rica move on to the last 8 but now for El Salvador their next match against Cuba is going to be crucial if they are hoping to ensure a place as one of the best third place teams.

In the second game of the night we had Cuba, who gave up 5 goals in their opener, taking on Mexico, who scored 5 goals in their opener.  It looked like we were in for a lot of goals in this one if Mexico could overcome the drama from earlier in the day.  The good news was that the doping suspensions did nothing to lessen the potent attack of Mexico which was led by Javier Hernandez and Gio Dos Santos.  In the early exchanges of the game it looked like the doping scandals might have had some impact on Mexico as they struggled to get the ball rolling.  They were creating a fair few chances and firing all kinds of shots towards the goal but the first half hour went by without a goal.  Mexican fans could be reassured by the fact that in recent Gold Cups the team has been doing most of its damage in the second half including all 10 of their goals in the previous 2 games.  They would get a breakthrough in the first half this time though as Chicharito netter his fourth goal of the tournament already as he rose up to head one home in the 36th minute.

In the second half of the game it looked like Mexico found another gear and Cuba had no answers for it. The chances quickly started to turn into goals around the hour mark and the route was suddenly on.  When this Mexican attack starts flying they are almost impossible to stop as they get down the field so fast and have a handful of players who can finish well.  Dos Santos made it 2-0 in the 60th minute with a  clever little flick to convert the low cross, the De Nigris got the tap in at the end of a great move to make it 3-0 shortly after he had been brought into the game.   Dos Santos would get his second on 67 minutes as he brought down a cross in the centre of the box and was given all the time in the world to slot the ball into the far side of the net.  Not to be outdone Chicharito popped up in the box to slot home another cross for his second goal of the game despite also wasting a number of chances.  So in just under 15 minutes Mexico had ballooned their lead out to 5-0 and from there they basically just cruised to the end.  It was third straight match, including 2009's final, that Mexico scored 5 goals and once again they did most of their damage in the second half.  The scariest part of all this scoring is that in the first two games Mexico have never really looked like they were going all out and they could still just be getting better.

So with 2 rounds down in Group A it looks like Mexico are going to be the winners of the group with them only needing a point from their last match against Costa Rica to ensure that.  Then barring Costa Rica getting routed by Mexico they should have enough to come through in second place.  El Salvador and Cuba will be battling for third but even if Cuba wins their is no guarantee that getting to third place would see them advance with that -10 goal difference.  A win for El Salvador though would put them in very good shape for getting into the next round despite being at -5 GD.  Either way the last round of play in the group should be an exciting one.

Gold Cup: Day 1

The central story line of day 1 at the Gold Cup has got to be the very lopsided score lines.  To me the games really served to illustrate just how large the gap now is between the top teams in CONCACAF and the teams that are just barely able to make it into the Gold Cup and will be among the first ones out of World Cup qualifying when it starts in the fall.  On the other side of the coin Mexico and Costa Rica both showed that they are going to be tough teams to beat and that should set up a good clash between the two of them with top spot in the group likely on the line.

There was some good news for Canada on Day 1 as the lopsided score lines mean that the team that finishes third in group A is likely to have a bad goal difference.  That is good for Canada in case they finish third in group C since in the Gold Cup the top two teams advance and then the 2 best third place teams also make it though.  So unless we get a lot more one sided scores then its not looking for great for who ever ends up third in group A, but lets not get to far ahead of ourselves with that since it was only the first day of the tournament.


The games themselves were entertaining affairs unless you are a fan of either of the losing teams in which case they were probably about as much fun as getting a root canal. The tournament opened with Costa Rica taking on Cuba in front of a decent crowd at Cowboys stadium. The crowd was no where near the kinds of record numbers that the new Cowboys Stadium is none for but at least the place was not dead and anyone who stayed to watch both matches were treated to a lot of goals. Costa Rica stole the show in the opener with their 5-0 win over Cuba thanks to getting goals from 4 different sources with
Marcos Urena, a Russian Premier League player, netting a pair.  The game was fairly close, on the score sheet at least, through the first 40 minutes but that is when Costa Rica put the game out of reach.  A goal just before half was followed up by a shocking 2 goals in the first 2 minutes of the second half to put this one beyond doubt.  The 5-0 scoreline in the end was nothing more then Costa Rica deserved as they completely controlled the match and Cuba never even looked like a threat to score while their back line seemed completely outclassed and unable to stop the constant attacks.

The second game of the night was not much different which I sure pleased the largely pro-Mexican crowd that was in attendance.  The Mexican fans would have come into the match expecting a comfortable win over the much weaker El Salvador and would probably have been very uncomfortable with their teams first half performance.  At the break the match was 0-0 and Mexico was failing to make anything of the number of chances that came their way.  The second half was a completely different story though as they found their stride and under the leading of Javier Hernandez, the Manchester United striker, they found their scoring boots.  Chicharito scored a hat trick which was capped off with a 93rd minute penalty after Juarez and De Nigris had each scored to give Mexico a 2-0 lead.  Again the 5-0 score line was probably a deserved result as the Mexicans completely dominated to run of play firing 20 shots towards the net and constantly threatening the back line of El Salvador.

Things that I will be taking away from the first round of matches is that:

- Costa Rica and Mexico are the two teams almost certainly going to be fighting it out for top spot in group A.  

- Mexico are deserving of being labelled as pre-tournament favourites, along with the States, and will be a force to be reckoned with

- Javier Hernandez is going to be a force in this tournament having spent all season causing some of the world's best centre backs problems his pace is just going to be too much for most teams

- We might just be in for a treat this year in terms of the number of goals scored

Day 2 is likely to be a bit less exciting in terms of the number of goals scored but Jamaica-Grenada and Honduras-Guatemala should still be interesting matches.  Honduras are probably the team to watch in group B as I would consider them the favourites to win it and the one team in the group that could provide a shock and go far in this tournament.