Gold Cup Group B Preview

Group B
Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, USA

Group B will feature the defending Champions USA, Central American representative Honduras and two Caribbean teams in Grenada and Haiti. The group will first appear in the newest MLS venue, Qwest Field in Seattle. Two games will be played on July 4th, American’s Birthday. The Yanks will play against Grenada and should have great fans support on this day. I do not see Grenada mounting a consistent attack this day and the Spice Boys will be in for a long day. Honduras should take care of Haiti in the other match. Then the group travels across the country to the nations Capitol and plays at RFK stadium. Honduras has 4 times as many fans (as the Yanks) in Chicago for a World Cup Qualifier earlier in the year. D.C also has a very large Latin American populous. It will be interesting if Honduras fans out number the Yanks fans in our nations Capitol. This game should determine the winner of the group. To me this game could go either way with an edge to Honduras. The other groups will take an interest in Grenada vs. Haiti. Other group’s teams will hope for a tie so neither team will advance to the knockout round. If there is a winner here the winner may go through as a 3rd place team…so the game will have meaning no only to Haiti and Grenada but also the other two groups.

The group then travels up the Atlantic coast to New England’s Gillette Stadium. If Haiti had any chance against the USA it would have been in an early game. The USA’s dept, playing on their home pitch and all the traveling, will propel the Yanks past Haiti. Honduras should take care of Grenada however Sharlie Joseph will have plenty of fans in the stands. Gillette is the home of his Revolution team so he will be very comfortable playing there. Will Grenada be this years Cinderella story!
I see USA with the edge since they will have home field advantage. Honduras will take the runner up spot relying on their experience. Either Haiti or Grenada may go through if the can get a point against the big boys and beat the other in the crucial 2nd game in Washington D.C. Grenada did not score much in the Caribbean Cup but relied on a stout defense. Haiti problem was that they did not play tagether throughout the Caribbean Cup until the final round. Haiti just do not have enough of their federation backing them. Their fans are great though and hopefully they can put on a nice showing.

The Favorite
USA They will be playing in their 10th Gold Cup in a row.. The Yanks have never lost a group stage match in the Gold Cup. Their last Gold Cup loss was a 2:1 defeat to Brazil in 2003 semi-finals in Miami Orange Bowl. They have the best Gold Cup record with 33 wins and 5 loses and 1 tie. They have won 3 of the last 4 Gold Cups. They are the host and the defending Champions. They are under the direction of Bob Bradley.
They have a very successful Confederations Cup in South Africa and now have to get ready to play the bi-annual Gold Cup. There will only be a few holdovers from that team. This will be mostly a team Bradley wants to evaluate for the World cup 2010. They Yanks need help on the left flank and left Defense. They also want more Forward depth. Bradley wants to evaluate who he can help him starting or the valuable backup spots.
The roster is a split between MLS players and European 2nd tier teams. Their main weakness the team has is this group has never played together. They will have to find cohesion with in the first 3 games or they will be bounced quickly in the knockout round.
Look for Freddy Adu and his great dribbling and attacking skills in the middle. Stuart Holden (Houston) has been given the 10 spot in Houston when they Dynamo let De Rosario go to Toronto FC. This is impressive since Holden is only 23 and possesses veteran skills and a good work rate. They will try to feed the giant at 6-3 Kenny Cooper (FC Dallas) as a target forward. He will be along side the bulldog Charlie Davies the Confederations Cup hero. The left midfield spot will have 2 youngsters battling for Bradley attention in Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew) and Colin Clark (Colorado).
The back line will have a number of ex MLS’er who have moved on to European tier 2 leagues and are trying to make a name for themselves. They are the reigning champs and will play on their home pitch. The defense has to stiffen and the youngsters and veterans have to blend to win this tournament. They are the favorite in this group even with the B team starting. They are playing on their home pitch.

The Dark Horse
Honduras They will be making their 9th Gold Cup. This is their 4th Gold Cup in a row. They are one of 4 qualifiers from the Central America by coming in 3rd in UNCAF Cup in Honduras. They only missed one Gold Cup in 2002. They reached the quarter finals in 2007 and the Semi-finals in 2005. Their best performance was Gold Cup in 1991. They reached the finals in the inaugural event losing in a shootout to the host (USA) at LA Memorial Coliseum
Honduras national team coach is Columbian Reinaldo Rueda. Their Captain is Carlo Costly (GKS Belchatow-Poland) who is big and powerful. Costly will pair with Walter Pery Martínez and he plays for Deportivo Alves-Spain. Kansas City Wizards midfielder Roger Espinoza (KC Wizards-USA) and Luis Ramos Spartus are the only other foreign players on this roster. The rest come from 4 main teams in Honduras (Marathon-6, Real Espana-5, Motagua-4 and Olimpia-4.
Honduras only warm up game is a match against Panama Sunday June 28th which they won 2:0. The game will be in Raleigh, North Carolina. This venue will help both teams get ready for the venues in the Gold Cup. Honduras almost beat the USA team earlier this year and that was against the Yanks top team. This USA team is the 2nd stringers who have not played together. They get the dark horse spot since the Honduras national program has come a long way in recent times.

The Hopefuls (Haiti – Grenada)
Haiti Are back for their second straight and 4th overall Gold Cup. Les Grenadiers is their nickname. They are one of 4 qualifiers from the Caribbean region. They won the Caribbean Cup in 2007 in Trinidad and Tobago against the host in Port of Spain. Their best Gold Cup performance was making the quarter finals in 2002. They are led by Jairo Rios a Columbian. Haiti best performance was in 2002 when they made it to the knockout round. Haitians want to regain the stature they had when they participated in the 1974 World Cup. They luckily got to this Gold Cup when Cuba withdrew and they won the coin flip against Trinidad and Tobago. They are tall, fast and hard charging. They are individually talented but lack the team tactical ability other teams have. They only go through if they beat Grenada and get a point from the Yanks or Honduras....this is a tall task....but so was qualifying for the 1974 World Cup.
Grenada
The Spice Boy will be playing in their first ever Gold Cup. They qualified as one of 4 Caribbean regions slots. They came in second in the 2009 Caribbean Cup. They lost to the host Jamaica 2:0. Both goals were scored on penalty kicks. They will be the smallest country ever to participate in the Gold Cup. They will be wearing bright green or yellow shirts with red socks. Noris Wilson is the coach and he is from Grenada. They are looking to upset the hierarchy of CONCACAF powers. Grenada did not score that many goals in the Caribbean cup and they play a very stout defensive style. They will have Sharlie Joseph (Revolutions-USA). Joseph has been called the best holding midfielder in MLS for a number of years. His versatility allowed the coach to move his to at position. He is the leading scorer for the rev this year. He will be a clog in the middle for Grenada and will feed to potent Jason Roberts (Blackburn Rovers-Eng). These players will help the Grenada attack greatly.

Prediction 1 USA, 2 Honduras, 3 Haiti, 4 Grenada

Gold Cup Group A Preview

GROUP A:
Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica

The Favorite:

Costa Rica The Tico’s will be in their 9th Gold Cup and 7th in a row. They advanced to back to back semi-finals in 1991 and 1993. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2007 to Mexico in a very physical and bitter match. They have Costa Rican Rodrigo Kenton at the helm. Their best performance was in 2002 where they made the Finals losing 2:0 in Pasadena California.
They are presently playing their best soccer right now in CONCACAF. They sit atop the Hexagon standing with a 4-0-1 record with 12 points. They have beaten the USA, Honduras, El Salvador at home. They also beat Trinidad and Tobago in the only away victory at this stage. They also have allowed the fewest goals (5) of the 6 remaining Hexagon teams. The Tico’s are clicking on all cylinders and Kenton is not taking his foot off the gas. He has brought his senior team and look to take their first Gold Cup.
Players to watch for are Saprissa’s Walter Centeno. He is a cagy veteran who can control the pace of the game in the middle. Celso Borges (Club Fredrikstad-NOR) will help Centreno with his quick attacks up the middle. He is deadly around the goal area scoring 5 goals in the last 2 qualifing wounds. They will feed strikers Andy Furtado (Marathon-Hon) and Alvaro Saborio of Sion - Switzerland. They will be the favorite to win this group since this team has the experience, depth and cohesion from playing together so long.

The Challenger
Jamaica The Reggae Boyz will be playing in their 7th Gold Cup. They qualified by winning the 2009 Caribbean Cup 2:0 against Grenada in Kingston Jamaica. This brings their Caribbean Championships to 4. They have made the knockout round 4 out of 6 times they participated in the Gold Cup. The Reggae Boyz best performance was reaching the semi-finals on 2 occasions (1993, 1998). They had a very memorable 0:0 tie with Brazil in 1998 Gold Cup group play game.
The Reggae Boyz and fans are dreadfully disappointed they are not participating in the Final Hexagon stage. They registered 3 victories in their last 3 semi-final games beating Honduras, Mexico and Canada. They tied Mexico for second place and were edged out on goal differential. They have to wait another 4 years for the next World Cup cycle. Luckily they have the Gold Cup to look forward to. They have proven they are the best of the Caribbean in 2009 by winning the Caribbean Cup and want to prove they belong with the elite of CONCACAF. They are the only Caribbean representative in this group and will be looking to prove themselves.
Look for Omar Cummings FW who is on a tear for the Colorado Rapids. He is fast and powerful and the rugged MLS defenses can not stop him. FW -Luton Shelton (Valerenga-Nor)already has 27 goals for the senior team with only 43 appearances. Jamaica also has Ricardo Fuller (Stoke City-Eng) and Marlon King (Wigan Athletic-Eng) up front to complete the most accomplished and deepest FW positions in the Tournament. These potent forwards will be feed from Jeraine Johnson (Shefeild Wednesday-ENG), Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Barnsley-ENG), Demar Phillips (Aalesunds-NOR). The Defense will be anchored by Ricardo Gardner (Bolton Wanders-Eng) who should have over 100 caps after the tournament is complete. Guarding the net will be Donovan Ricketts (LA-Galaxy-USA0 who presently is the best goalie in MSL this year. This team is loaded with international players who play at the top levels in Europe. They are bringing a very experienced players and if they can find some cohesion and play a little defense they will go deep in this tournament.


The Wild Card

Canada The Canucks are making their 9th appearance in the Gold Cup. This will be their 6th Gold Cup in a row. They claimed their first ever international tournament in 2000 winning the Gold Cup. They beat a very talented Colombia 2:0 in LA California. They are the only other CONCACAF team to win the Gold Cup besides (USA and Mexico). They reached the semi-finals in 2007 event losing to eventual Champion USA 2:1. They are lead by Coach Stephen Hart.
The big new out of Canada is Dwane DeRosario decision not to play in the Gold Cup. The decision is understandable since Canada will not be playing in the 2010 World Cup. The national team has to get ready for 2014. DeRosario will not be involved in that campaign. Also Toronto TC is struggling in the crucial part of MLS right now. Toronto TC also has to get ready for the Champions league.
Canada will have Gold Cup 2007 MVP Juan De Guzman of Deportivo La Coruna (ESP) will patrolling the Middle. He may be paired up with Will Johnson of Real Salt Lake – USA. Johnson is a versatile and can play the AT position. They will feed Ali Gerba MK Dons (Eng) up front. Gerba was their best offense in World Cup Qualifying and they will rely on him. Also look for 22 year old Simeon Jackson (Gillingham-ENG). “Jackson has shined all season for the club, and ended the season as the team's leading scorer with twenty goals” [1] Their back line will be anchored by their captain Paul Stalteri. Stalteri plays along side Michael Bradley in Germany for Borussia Monchengladbach (GER). The rest of the team is made up of players playing in MLS and scattered through out Europe.
They will be a formidable club if De Guzman can find some space in the middle and the young players come of age. They play a well organized defense scheme. They are all very big and play a very physical game. Spirits are very low right now in Canada after crashing out of World Cup Qualifying semi-final round. This Gold Cup can in a good time for many Canuck fans. They believe they are capable of regaining the magic of 2000 and feel they have something to prove to themselves and to the rest of CONCACAF. They played a great tournament in 2007 beating Costa Rica 2:1 and Haiti 2:0 in group play. They then dominated Guatemala 3:0 in the knockout round. Then in the semi-final they played a very even match against the Yanks. They were robbed on a bad call to tie the game at the end of regulation. This call will compare to the “Hand of God” with in CONCACAF as one of the most horrendous non-calls ever. The Canucks play well in the States and if Staleri can organize the defense it will be hard to score on them.
[1] http://canadianstretty.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html

El Salvador

The Cuscatlecos will be playing in their 6th Gold Cup. This will be their second in a row. They have a young team and are flying high with their quality of play in the Hexagon. They made back to back quarterfinal appearances in 2002 and 2003. They did not advance in Gold Cup 2007 and will be looking for redemption.
Mexican Carlos de los Cobos took over as head coach in 2006. The El Salvador national team has drastically improved. The surprised Central American Champion Panama by knocking them out in World Cup Qualifying. Then they surprised pundits again by getting by Haiti and Suriname in the semi-finals and making the Final stage. Many others, like me, thought that El Salvador would just be cannon fodder in the final round. They played the Yanks in March and the Yanks were lucky to get a 2:2 tie at the end of the game. The played the tightest game of any team at Saprissa stadium only losing 1:0 to the Tico’s. This team is brimming with confidence after the recent 2-1 victory over Mexico in San Salvador. Their team is playing extremely well and wants the team firing on all cylinders going into the 2nd half of World Cup Qualifying.
They will be bringing their senior team to the Gold Cup and do not want to lose their edge. Look for Christian Castillo and Cyprus based Eliseo Quintanilla with their clean sharp passes in the middle. They will try to spring senior Rudis Corales and the ultra quick Rodolfo Zelaya (Mexico Club Leon) up front. The team and fans now believe they can beat anyone in CONCACAF with their recent World Cup Qualifying games. They will be bringing one of their strongest teams to the Gold Cup. They just have to learn how to win outside of Cuscatalon Stadium.

The Group Group A will feature a team from each of the 3 regions in CONCACAF. There will be 2 Central American (Costa Rica & El Salvador) teams battling a North American representative (Canada) and the Caribbean Champion (Jamaica). This will be the most competitive group of the 3 groups. Costa Rica may be the favorite the other nations will be looking to prove themselves. Every team and their fans believe that their national team can win this group.
This is the 6th time the Canada and Costa Rica have been placed in the same Gold Cup group. This game has turned into a great rivalry between these 2 nations. Canada beat them 2:1 in the last Gold Cup so the Tico’s will be ready for them this year.
Jamaica opens against Canada and after a 3:0 drubbing of the Canucks in Kingston. The Canucks will not overlook the Reggae Boyz in the first game. Whoever wins this game will gain much needed confidence going forward. I give the edge to the Reggae Boyz here. El Salvador opens against Costa Rica and they will want to establish a tone before the Final Hex game in San Salvador. This will be a very physical game. El Salvador is tired of playing second fiddle to the Ticos and this will be their best chance to rectify this.
I believe Costa Rica is playing their best ball and should emerge the top seed here. Jamaica wants to exert its influence beyond the Caribbean and will be going all out for this Championship. They have the talent to go deep in this Gold Cup. Canada will be playing many youngsters however they play well in the States. El Salvador has gained tremendous confidence and could be the surprise. Los Cuscatlecos will be hoping to get points to make quarterfinals.

Prediction 1. Costa Rica 2. Jamaica 3. El Salvador 4 Canada

Gold Cup teams are set

GROUP A: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica

Canada They are making their 9th appearance on the Gold Cup. This will be their 6th Gold Cup in a row. They claimed their first ever international tournament in 2000 winning the Gold Cup against Columbia 2:0 in the Finals in LA California. They are the only other CONCACAF team to win the Gold Cup besides (USA-Mexico). They reached the semi-finals in 2007 event losing to eventual Champion USA 2:1. They are under the guidance of ________.

Costa Rica The Tico’s will be in their 9th Gold Cup and 7th in a row. Their best performance was in 2002 where they beat Trinidad and Tobago and Korean Republic in the knockout phase. The Tico’s made the Finals in 2002 losing to the host 2:0 in Pasadena California. They also advanced to back to back semi-finals in 1991 and 1993. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2007 to Mexico in a very physical and bitter match. They have Costa Rican Rodrigo Kenton at the helm.

El Salvador They will be playing in their 6th Gold Cup. This will be their second in a row. They El Sal is one of 4 direct qualifiers from UNCAF. They have a young team and are flying high with the team’s participation in the Hex. They reached the quarterfinals in 2003 losing to regional rival Costa Rica. They did not make the knockout round in 2007 and will be looking for redemption.

Jamaica The Reggae Boyz will be playing in their 7th Gold Cup. They earned one on the 4 spots designated to the Caribbean region. They qualified by winning the 2009 Caribbean Cup 2:0 against Grenada in Kingston Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz reached the semi-finals on 2 occasions (1993, 1998). They have made the knockout round 4 out of 6 times they participated in the Gold Cup.

This group will feature a team from each of the 3 regions in CONCACAF. There will be 2 Central American teams battling for the top spot. Canada almost automatically goes into this group since they are the other North American "north" team. Canada and Costa Rica seem to always be place in a group together. This is the 6th time the 2 nations have been placed in the same group. This game has turned into a great rivalry. Costa Rica will be a favorite to advance. Canada crashed out of the World Cup Qualifying with no wins and their team will be looking for redemption in the Gold Cup. They play like a European team with big athletic players playing a well organized defensive scheme. Jamaica is still spitting mad they did not qualify for the 2009 Hex and the last Gold Cup. They made sure to qualify this time by winning the Caribbean Cup. They are the Caribbean Champion and will challenge for the top spot. El Salvador can not be counted out. They are in the Hex and their team is brimming with confidence. I can already hear the fans of these nations claiming they have the "Group of Death". This will be the tightest contested group.
Prediction 1. Costa Rica 2 Jamaica

Group B Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, USA

USA The defending Gold Cup Champion. They have won the last 2 Gold Cup and 3 of the last 4. They will be playing in their 10th Gold Cup in a row. They are under the direction of Bob Bradley. The Yanks have never lost a group stage match in the Gold Cup. Their last Gold Cup loss was a 2:1 defeat to Brazil in 2003 semi-finals in Miami Orange Bowl. They have the best Gold Cup record with 33 wins and 5 loses and 1 ties.

Honduras They will be making their 9th Gold Cup. This is their 4th Gold Cup in a row. They are one of 4 qualifiers from the Central America by coming in 3rd in UNCAF Cup in Honduras. They only missed one Gold Cup in 2002. They reached the quarter finals in 2007 and the Semi-finals in 2005. They will be led by Columbian Reynaldo Reuda. Their best performance was Gold Cup in 1991. They reached the finals in the inaugural event losing in a shootout to the host (USA) at LA Memorial Coliseum.

Haiti Are back for their second straight and 4th overall Gold Cup. Les Grenadiers is their nickname. They are one of 4 qualifiers from the Caribbean region. They won the Caribbean Cup in 2007 in Trinidad and Tobago against the host in Port of Spain. Their best Gold Cup performance was making the quarter finals in 2002. They are led by Jairo Rios a Columbian. Haiti best performance was in 2002 made it to the knockout round.

Grenada The Spice Boy will be playing in their first ever Gold Cup. They qualified as one of 4 Caribbean regions slots. They came in second in the 2009 Caribbean Cup. They lost to the host Jamaica 2:0. Both goals were scored on penalty kicks. They will be the smallest country ever to participate in the Gold Cup. They will be wearing bright green or yellow shirts with red socks. Noris Wilson is the coach and he is from Grenada.
They are looking to upset the hierarchy of CONCACAF powers.

Group B will feature the host USA. They will travel to the newest MLS venue Seattle on July 4th against Grenada. Grenada will have no chance in this game since it is on the USA birthday and fans will cheer for the host. Then the group travels to the nations Capitol and plays Honduras at RFK. Honduras will have plenty of fans and it will be interesting who will bring more fans. This should be a great game. The group will then travel to Gillette Stadium and play Haiti. If Haiti had any chance against the USA it would have been in an early game. The USA dept and Haiti lack of dept, due to all the traveling, will propel the yanks past Haiti. The USA will also make the knockout round. Honduras will challenge the USA in group play however after 3 group play games the USA will emerge on top even with their B side playing. Grenada did not score that much in the Caribbean Cup so the will look to advance as a #2 or #3 from Group B. Haiti just do not have enough of their federation backing them to prepare enough to threaten for the top spot in the group. Their fans are great though.

Prediction 1 USA 2 Honduras


Group C Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Guadeloupe

Mexico One of only 2 teams that have played in all 9 previous Gold Cups. They were they first team to capture 3 consecutive Gold Cups (1993, 1995, 1998). They are led by Mexican coach Javier Aguirre. Mexico has scored the most goals of any team at 88 goals for and only 27 against. They are a 4 time Champion.

Nicaragua This will be Nicaragua’s first ever Gold Cup. UNCAF has 4 direct qualifiers and the last spot is a playoff game against the 2 3rd place finishers from the UNCAF Cup groups. They qualified by winning the one game playoff against regional power Guatemala and winning 2:0 to claim the last spot in the Gold Cup. They coach is a Nicaraguan Otoneil Olivas who guided them through their most successful UNCAF Cup in 2008.

Panama They are the winners of the UNCAF (Central American) Cup in 2009. This was their first international Championship ever. They will be participating in their 5th Gold Cup and 3rd in a row. They make the quarterfinals in 2007 losing to the host. Their best Gold Cup performance was the 2005 when they reached the Finals. They again played the host (USA) to a draw only to lose in penalties. They also beat S Africa and Columbia in the knockout phase that year. They are under the guidance of Panamanian Gary Stempel.

Guadeloupe They will be playing in their second ever Gold Cup and 2 in a row. They had a fabulous start in their Gold Cup 2007. They made it all the way to the semi finals where they lost to Mexico 1:0. They were the Cinderella story of the tournament and are looking to prove they are a consistent top team in CONCACAF. They can not qualify for FIFA World Cup so this is the top tournament this French department shoots for.

Concacaf needs Mexico to advance in the Gold Cup so Nicaragua (the weakest teams) was placed with them. Mexico still has its work cut out since the UNCAF Champions Panama. The Canaleros will challenge for the top spot in Group C. Mexico is sure to make the Knockout round from this group. I see all teams getting a win against Nicaragua so I believe 3 teams will advance from this group. Guadeloupe has shown consistency from the 2006 Caribbean Cup the 2007 Gold Cup and the 2008 Caribbean Cup. They are well organized and opportunistic on offense. They are a good team to watch. They will be looking for payback to Mexico for it’s loss in the semi-finals in 2007. Nicaragua will be playing like this is their World Cup. The team is making it’s first ever appearance so they want to make a good impression and not get embarrassed. I will be pulling the Nicaragua and hope they play well.

Prediction 1. Mexico 2 Panama

The other 2 teams I think will nake the knockout round are Canada and Guadeloupe. Canada is a strong team and I think will beat El Salvador and get a point from Costa Rica or Jamaica. Guadeloupe will beat Nicaragua so they have to get a point from Mexico or Panama.

Darkhorse will be either Haiti or Grenada. So the big game in the tournament will be this Group B match. The fringe teams will hope they tie each other to knock eachother out with only 1 point with 2 loses. Who ever wins could get through with goals