Gold Cup Matchday 2: the minnows rebel at Concacaf’s giants

By Morgan J. Wolf

The Gold Cup has continued to prove itself as an exciting tournament for different reasons than would be expected. Instead of the major teams grabbing the headlines, it’s been the smaller teams that have impressed.

In Group A, Canada met World Cup quarterfinalists Costa Rica in a game that was hotly anticipated. Canadian wonderkid Alphonso Davies scored again. However, Costa Rica leveled the match at 1-1.

In Group B, the United States met the surprise of the first round of games: Martinique, who beat Nicaragua 2-0. Though the USMNT won, it was another worrisome performance. The game ended 3-2, which means that the host nation was unable to control the game.

This does not bode well for their ability to deal with stronger competition at the knockout round.

In Group C was arguably the game every soccer fan was most looking forward to. Mexico faced Jamaica in a rematch of the previous Gold Cup final. The storylines obviously were plentiful and the hype leading in was high. Unfortunately, the match was frankly boring, as neither team was able to strike any blows, ending in a dull 0-0.

There were only two moments where there could have been scoring opportunities. For Mexico, ‘Cubo’ Torres had a header hit the post. For Jamaica, Je-Vaughn Watson went down in the box for what should’ve been a penalty.

So, going into the final round of group-stage games, all the spots for the knockout stage are technically open since the Mexico-Jamaica game was a draw (the winner of that match could’ve claimed an automatic berth), so expect the final round of the group stage to be entertaining.