Teams: Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Jamaica
Match of the Round: Canada vs Costa Rica (BMO Field, Toronto 7pm FS1) The first-ever Gold Cup match to take place in Canada this match will likely have huge implications as to who makes it out of Group B. Canada has shown themselves to be very capable at defending teams who play a very straightforward style (Colombia, Iceland) . The question is how they will respond to a team like Costa Rica who will use Joel Campbell wide to open up pockets of space in the defense. Look Russell Teibert to play a big role in this match.
Key Players To Keep An Eye On: Tesho Akindele (Canada/FC Dallas,) Joel Campbell (Costa Rica/Villarreal,) Darwin Ceren (El Salvador/Orlando City SC,) and Kemar Lawrence (Jamaica/New York Red Bulls).
Outlook: Perhaps the most competitive of the three groups, Group A will feature four teams that should enter this tournament feeling is if they can make the second round. Each team brings an interesting that if everything goes right could see them making a deep run into the Gold Cup.
Canada-Hot off of the heels of the Women’s World Cup and a final appearance by the Montreal Impact in the CONCACAF Champions League Final, Canadian football is running at an all-time high right now. A country that has always been seen as a sleeping giant in international football it appears that the level of play is finally matching the excitement that Canadian supporters have always had for the beautiful game. The question now is can Canada’s senior men’s national team live up to raised expectations?
For Canada to make it through the first round they are going to need to get production from their set of young forwards. Over the past two years of a well-spring of talented forwards have emerged from Canada, including Cyle Larin (Orlando City SC,) Tesho Akindele (FC Dallas,) and Jordan Hamilton (Toronto FC) have emerged and given Canadian supporters hope. In their recent set of World Cup qualifiers all three players showed promise. But there is a difference in the level of play between Dominica and Costa Rica and how these players respond will have a large impact on how far this team can go.
The Costa Rica Men’s National Team comes into Gold Cup play as one of the favorites (Photo Credit: CONCACAF).
Costa Rica-Out of the four the expected favorites should be Costa Rica. Coming off of a successful Quarter-final World Cup run and a win at the 2014 Copa Centroamericana the Ticas appear to be entering a Golden Generation with players featuring for major European clubs. Mexico and the USA should not take this team lightly; they are certainly contenders to win the Gold Cup.
What will be interesting to see is how the team copes without goalkeeper Keylor Navas, the hero of the 2014 World Cup who is out with an injury. Costa Rica coach Paolo Wanchope, the Costa Rican legend, has brought in Patrick Pemberton to serve as his number one. Having a goalkeeper of Pemberton’s pedigree coupled with the steady back four of Celso Borges, Michael Umana, Roy Miller, and Giancarlo Gonzalez should keep them in most matches.
El Salvador midfielder Arturo Alvarez in a friendly with Honduras (Photo Credit/CONCACAF Mexisport)
El Salvador-Given the other teams in their group it would be easy to paint El Salvador as the minnows of the group. But all throughout the history of the Gold Cup El Salvador have proven themselves to be a very difficult team to break down. With over nine of their twenty-three man roster playing in leagues outside of El Salvador this is a country that has certainly benefited from additional opportunities in the United States.
While El Salvador will certainly give the other teams in Group B their lack of scoring will hinder their ability to advance beyond the Group Stage. Other than six goals against Saint Kitts and Nevis El Salvador has scored just one goal in five matches this year. Considering those matches were against the likes of If have any aspirations to play in later rounds they will need midfielder Darwin Ceren (Orlando City SC) and Andres Flores (New York Cosmos) to find their scoring touch.
(Photo Credit: CONCACAF)
Jamaica-Perhaps prior to the 2015 Copa America the Reggae Boyz might have been considered an afterthought in this group. But after holding Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay to just three goals in Chile Jamaica comes into this tournament with confidence and most importantly with tournament experience.
As opposed to Mexico, who will be bringing just one player from the Copa America, Jamaica will be bringing pretty much their full roster. That should concern the other members of Group B after the excellent defensive display that their back four showed. Jamaica has always been known for their physical skills, but what set their performance apart during the Copa America was the technical prowess. Left-back Kemar Lawrence and center-back Jermaine Taylor took excellent angles when challenging the likes of Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero limiting their shots on goal.
Expected Finish: Costa Rica, Canada, Jamaica, and El Salvador
