The 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup opened last June 15th and will run until July 7, 2019, with the United States, Costa Rica and Jamaica as co-hosts. A total of 16 teams from the federations in North America, Central America, and the Carribean will participate in the Gold Cup this year, an increase from the 12 in the previous years.
Let’s preview the four groups in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and pick our winner for each group. Odds were taken from MyBookie.ag as of 6/14/19:
Mexico is a heavyweight against lowly competition in this group and they are also favored to win the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They are out for vengeance after their 2017 semifinals loss to Jamaica. The Mexicans enter the 2019 Gold Cup in superb form as they have won all four of their friendlies in 2019. Mexico’s four-game winning spree over Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador, and Venezuela is the first time they’ve won four in a row against South American squads. Even with many of their stars missing in their lineup, they scored a total of 13 goals while allowing just four in those four 2019 matches. El Tri is looking at Raul Jimenez to deliver the Gold Cup to them this year with the likes of Carlos Vela, Hirving Lozano, Miguel Layun and Javier Hernandez all absent for one reason or another. Jimenez is the favorite to be the top goalscorer in this tournament and he is Mexico’s main man here.
Canada is Mexico’s top challenger in this group. In the last 13 Gold Cups, only three teams have won the title, Canada is one of those. The Canadians have won their last five matches heading to the Gold Cup and their last four games at the Nations League qualifying saw them outscore their opponents 18-1. However, the Canadians have not played since March and their wins over the likes of French Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica aren’t exactly a gauge of how they’d play with Gold Cup competition. Cuba lost to Haiti in March and I’m not expecting them to do damage here. The same can be said of Martinique which is a non-FIFA nation. The pick here is Mexico but Canada has the better value here. Prediction: Mexico
Costa Rica played in the World Cup last year and are the clear favorites to win Group B. However, they have lost seven out of their last 10 matches played and have won just one out of their four friendlies in 2019. That goal in their 1-0 win over Jamaica is their only score in 2019 and they’ve given up four. They reached the semifinals in 2017 but will play this tournament without star goalkeeper Keylor Navas. The Ticos have a squad that borders between a veteran unit and an old team. 37-year old Alvaro Saborio has un-retired to play in the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Haiti stands as their top challenger with two wins and two losses in four friendlies this year. Haiti has wins over Guyana last week (3-1) and Cuba (2-1) last March. Their losses came against El Salvador (0-1) and Chile (1-2). Nicaragua has two wins, two losses and a draw in their last five contest. They defeated Australia 6-0 in the Nations League qualifying last year and they were victorious against Barbados in the same qualifying tournament last March. However, they are coming off a 1-5 shellacking at the hands of Messi and Argentina. Bermuda is making their debut in the Gold Cup and not much is expected of them this year. Prediction: Costa Rica
On paper, this is the toughest group to predict with Jamaica and Honduras having nearly identical soccer betting odds. Jamaica’s been on the rise in recent years, finishing runner-up in the last two installments of the Gold Cup. In 2017, they scored a stunning upset over Mexico to reach the final. The Reggae Boyz opened 2019 with a 2-0 loss to El Salvador in the Nations League qualifying last March. Then they dropped a 0-1 decision to Costa Rica in a friendly. However, they finished their Gold Cup preparations with an impressive 1-0 win over the United States.
Honduras is coming off a 0-7 beating at the hands of Brazil and they have lost all of their three friendlies in 2019. After losing an inter-continental playoff to Australia which cost them a spot at the 2018 World Cup, they won just one of their next eight matches. El Salvador has good value here and they are a good dark horse pick with nine wins in their last dozen matches, including five out of their last six. They lost to Japan 0-2 the last time out but have a 2-0 win over Jamaica at the Nations League qualifying. Curacao looks good on paper with eight wins in their last nine matches but they’ve played low-quality opposition over that period. In the last edition of the Gold Cup, Curacao lost to Jamaica, El Salvador, and Mexico by 2-0 scores. I think El Salvador may cause an upset over Honduras but overall, Jamaica win this group. Prediction: Jamaica
The United States is a nation that has won this tournament six times in the past and is aiming to win three out of the last four Gold Cups. This is a team composed of many Major League Soccer stars and big names. The fact that they are hosting the 2019 Gold Cup also gives them an advantage over the other teams, not just in the Group but in the tournament in general. However, the USMT isn’t going to the Gold Cup in peak form. In the lead up to this tournament, they have not won in three matches, including losses to Venezuela (0-3) and to Jamaica (0-1). Earlier in the year though, they posted victories over Gold Cup teams like Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador.
Panama forced Brazil to a 1-1 draw last March but the Americans beat them 4-1 in the World Cup Qualifiers in 2017 so the Americans can be confident. The Canal men have not won since a 1-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in April 2018. As for Trinidad and Tobago, they have not won since September of last year when they defeated the United Arab Emirates 2-0 and they have not scored a goal in their last four matches where they’ve gone 0-3 with one draw. Guyana is the minnow of the group. They have a 2-1 win over Belize last March but also lost to fellow Gold Cup teams Bermuda and Haiti. Prediction: United States
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