The continent of North America is preparing for a bit of a football boom over the next three years with Lionel Messi about to grace the shores and the FIFA World Club Cup and FIFA World Cup in this part of the world in the next three years. The countdown to all of that begins with the CONCACAF Gold Cup which begins in the early hours of Sunday morning UK time.
USA host the tournament once again and they will be looking to make a successful defence of the title they won two years ago but they have named a developing squad which will get the attention of the other 15 teams in the tournament.
Recent Winners
2021 – USA
2019 – Mexico
2017 – USA
2015 – Mexico
2013 – USA
2011 – Mexico
2009 – Mexico
2007 – United States
2005 – United States
2003 – Mexico
The Format
The tournament was expanded from 12 teams to 16 for th3 2019 renewal of the event and that format has been retained for this year. Once again there is an invited team in the tournament in the form of Qatar. The 16 nations have all been placed into four groups of four where everyone plays each other once in the first phase. Unlike some tournaments around the world this one is quite simple. The top two go through to the knockout stages and everyone else goes home.
The knockout part of the tournament will see extra time and penalties being played if the match finishes a draw after 90 minutes. The draw has already been determined for the knockout stages and also unlike some tournaments no team from the same group can meet again before the final. The champions will be crowned in the final in Los Angeles on July 16.
Group A
USA are the host nation and the defending champion and they have been placed in Group A. Just a few days ago America won the Nations League in this part of the world so they will feel confident about their chances here but they have named a much less experienced squad for this tournament so they might not be the certainties they might have been. Jamaica will be pleased to hear that as they are the second seeds in this group. There is a Caribbean feel to this section with the other two teams in it being Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Group B
Mexico are the other big dog in this part of the world and the 2019 champions and 2021 runners-up are the top seeds in Group B this year. They have named a stronger squad in comparison to many of their rivals and are entitled to be edging favouritism for the event. Haiti have come through in this continent to be a second seed in the draw for this and they are the ones ranked to follow Mexico home in this section. Honduras have been in the position of Haiti and even though they are without a couple of key players were probably the third seed to avoid. If this group wasn’t tough enough the invited nation Qatar complete the quartet.
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Group C
With three really dominant teams in North America there is always a more open looking group of the four in this competition and this year it looks to be Group C where a fading Costa Rica are the leading nation. Panama had a very good Nations League campaign and that will give them a lot of confidence that they can be big factors in this tournament. Given the lack of a standout side in this group the other two teams will be hopeful of causing an upset. El Salvador would look to be the better of the two but Martinique can’t be overlooked lightly.
Group D
If there is an emerging nation in this part of the world it is Canada and they have been placed as the top seed in Group D. Having reached the World Cup last year and the final of the Nations League last weekend there would ordinarily be a lot of confidence behind the Maple Leaf but they have left a lot of talent behind for this tournament. They should still breeze through the group stage though because the second seeds in this section are Guatemala who are the lowest ranked team from that pot. Cuba are the third seeds here and after coming through qualifying the reward for Gaudeloupe is a crack at these three teams.
Betting
Ironically on Greyhound Derby semi-final night there is a saying about the best drawn dog being the one to back over the best dog in the race and I think we might have that here. There could very easily be one half of the draw that includes Jamaica, Canada and Mexico in the knockout stage which leaves USA all alone in the other half of the draw in terms of reputation and standing in this part of the world. This is very much a second string or development squad going into battle in this tournament though with just seven of the 23-man squad having 20 caps or more so they might be more vulnerable in this tournament.
That makes me think if there is going to be an outsider run well it will be in that half of the draw and with Costa Rica something of a fading force the best drawn dog might well be Panama. They arrive here off the back of a positive Nations League campaign where they did the double over Costa Rica before losing in the semi-final to a Canada side who had the likes of Jonathan David, Alphonso Davies, Ismeal Kone and a number of others in their ranks as opposed to here. This tournament represents the start of a big few years for Panama with the door open to qualify for the next World Cup in this part of the world and as a result they are taking this seriously and of all the teams in the field I see them as the value.
Tips
Back Panama to win CONCACAF Gold Cup (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 with William Hill (1/2 1-2)
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