Group C plays out its middle matches in the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Friday night as the competition heads towards the knockout stage with two games which could be pivotal in the outcome of who progress to the last eight.
This is another of those groups where the winners of the opening matches meet in the second game on Friday and the losers do too so by the end of the night we are likely to have a team near enough through to the next stage and one clinging onto their hopes by their fingernails.
Martinique vs Panama (23.30 – Viaplay Sports 1)
It is the winners of the opening matches that get us underway on Friday night when the surprise package of the group, Martinique, go up against a Panama side who were expected to come out on top in it and are on their way to doing so.
Martinique deserve a lot of credit for their win over El Salvador in their opening game partly because they had to come through the qualifiers to get into the tournament but also because they knew that was the easier of the three matches on paper so there was pressure on it. There were times that they rode their luck after going down to 10 men early in the second half but they were certainly well worth their win. Panama were also worthy winners in their opening game against Costa Rica which broke the back of this group and they now only need to stay focused to make it through you would imagine. I would expect Panama to win this match but they are my outright pick and winning the group significantly enhances that bet so I’ll take a watching brief but one where I’ll be cheering them on for that reason.
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El Salvador vs Costa Rica (01.30 – Viaplay Sports 1)
When the first match is completed inside the Red Bull Arena we will get the two teams who lost their opening match on show when El Salvador go up against Costa Rica with their tournament life potentially on the line.
El Salvador would have been expected to beat Martinique in their opening match but they could not contain the dynamic attack that they went up against and it will be interesting to see how they fare against a side not known for their attacking mite but who might have their hands forced in this one given that anything but a win would leave them vulnerable to exit in their final game. To be fair to Costa Rica, we did see some attacking threat out of them when they fell behind to Panama in the opening match and if they keep the back door shut like we are renowned to seeing from them then you would imagine they will have enough to get the job done here. These two met twice in World Cup qualifying over the last 18 months or so and both were won by Costa Rica. Goals are a real issue for El Salvador. Their consolation from the spot against Martinique was just their second in their last six outings. Costa Rica aren’t wholly reliable but they are a class above their opponents and if there is a winner here I expect it to be them.
Tips
Back Costa Rica (-0.25AH) to beat El Salvador for a 3/10 stake at 1.88 with Bet365
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