The CONCACAF Gold Cup gets underway on Saturday night when the defending champions Mexico open up their title defence in Group A when they face the tournament debutants Dominican Republic in a big match for both sides.
Mexico will be looking to lay something of a marker down here not just for this competition but with the countdown now on for the World Cup which they are less than 12 months from co-hosting. Dominican Republic will look to show they belong at this level.
Mexico
This is a big tournament for Mexico. That isn’t just because they are the defending champions and the favourites with the bookmakers to land the title once again, but also because this will be their last competitive action with an end product before they kick off in a World Cup which they are co-hosting. They arrive at the tournament as the Nations League winners and very much current top dogs in CONCACAF and will look to keep it that way.
Mexico are generally seen as a fairly defensive team in nature but they have opened up a bit in the last few months. They have to keep hold of the ball in these conditions and they generally do that well so that will serve them well and with Raul Jimenez now back to the form he was in when he was a Wolverhampton Wanderers player, the Mexicans have a two-prong attack that can get the better of most teams in the competition, if not all of them.
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Dominican Republic
This is a huge day for the football world of the Dominican Republic. They make their debut in this competition and have had a really good time of it lately. They have qualified for the tournament and are making good strides in the Nations League, which was the route they used to get into this event. They are currently putting up a competitive showing in World Cup qualifying too and probably don’t have a whole lot to lose here.
Dominican Republic will want to show what they can do on this stage over the course of the three matches in the group and see if they can push for qualification for the knockout rounds but you would imagine those aspirations will come to the fore in their last two matches as Mexico look a cut above. This is a Dominican Republic side who have scored 34 goals in their last seven games although, albeit mostly against weak opposition, so if they can play with freedom they could be dangerous.
Betting
I think we could be in for an entertaining opener to this tournament. Mexico should really be a cut above the Dominican Republic with no disrespect intended, but the underdogs haven’t improved to the level that they are gracing this tournament for the first time to come here and just roll over. I expect them to have a go and while it might not be the best plan they could come up with in terms of their chances of winning, it should make for a watchable clash.
The goal line for this first game of the competition is 3. The price is a little on the tight side but in an opening match of a tournament I want to have the lowest line that I can possibly have. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Mexico cover this on their own, Guatemala scored four against Dominican Republic in World Cup qualifying just a week ago and Mexico are a few levels above that. Mexico aren’t the watertight team that they once were though so the minnows could threaten here. I like over 3 goals.
Tips
Back Over 3 goals for a 3/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
