As part of Prost Amerika’s coverage of the Gold Cup we will be providing previews of each group, as well as Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
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Teams: Haiti, Honduras, Panama, and United States
Match of the Round: Panama vs United States (7/13 830pm EST Fox Sports 1)
This might not be the first time that these two teams have met since that fateful World Cup qualifier in 2013 but it will be their first match of any importance since then. To say that Panama will be out looking for revenge is an understatement. Supporters who have World Cup spots snatched away from them generally never forgive their opponent (just ask Ireland) and will look at any opportunity to get even. USMNT supporters should be very worried about this match.
Key Players To Keep An Eye On: Jeff Louis (Haiti/Standard Liege,) Andy Najar (Honduras/Anderlecht,) Harold Cummings (Panama/Independiente,) and Michael Bradley (United States/Toronto FC)
Outlook:.
Jean Sony Alcenat of Haiti, who plays for Steaua Bucharest, will be leaned on heavily to provide defensive support for a fledgling Haitian side (photo credit: CONCACAF)
Haiti–After finishing third in their second consecutive Caribbean Football Union Championship it appears that Haitian football is back on track after 2011’s terrible earthquake. Through exhaustive recruiting efforts by the Haitian Football Association, Les Grenadiers have put together a team that seems to be getting into form ahead of this Gold Cup and Qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
Haitian national team coach Marc Collat has called in an interesting mix of players based out of Europe and from North America. From Europe, keep an eye on Jeff Louis. The Standard Liege midfielder has finally started to crack the Belgian sides Best XI. With James Marcelin (Jacksonville Armada) and Pascal Millien (Ft. Lauderdale Strikers) Haiti will have three quick midfielders that will be deadly on the counter-attack.
With that being said, Haiti still has a long way to go to rebuild their football program. Due to finance restrictions the team has played just one friendly in 2015 against China. Not having match experience with another will certainly impact their chances of advancing.
Honduras head coach Jorge Luis Pinto prior to last Wednesday’s match against Mexico (photo credit: CONCACAF)
Honduras– Just about a year ago at this time Honduran football was at an all-time high. The team had just qualified for their second consecutive World Cup, finished second at the 2013 Gold Cup, scored their first-ever World Cup goal, and were entering the Copa Centroamericana with aspirations to win, go to the Gold Cup, and eventually make the 2016 Copa America.
What a difference a year makes. After bottoming out of the Copa Centroamericana, Los Catrachos only eked out a series win against French Guiana to make it to this year’s Gold Cup. Honduras has just two wins this calendar year (against French Guiana and El Salvador) and were swept in a two game series against Venezuela.
As it was during the World Cup last year the main culprit seems to be scoring. Since the beginning of 2014 Honduras has played in twenty-three matches. Of those twenty-three games they have only scored more than two goals in a match just seven times. Those include a 3-0 defeat against French Guiana (minnow,) a 2 -0 win over El Salvador, a 2-2 draw against Paraguay (one of their goals was an own goal,) a 3-2 loss against Venezuela in February (in which they scored twice after being down three,) a 2-0 win over Belize (minnow,) and a 4-2 loss to Israel.
Honduras’ head coach Jorge Luis Pinto has brought in the top three scorers from the Clausura of the Honduran Premier League (Rubillo Castillo, Anthony Lozano, and Erick Andino) and will look to Andy Najar to help spur the attack. Not having Roger Espinoza will hurt but it will give this team the chance to diversify their options.
Panamanian forward Gabriel Torres making a 50-50 challenge (Photo Credit: CONCACAF)
Panama- As mentioned above, this feels like payback time for Panama. After only narrowly missing out on a playoff match for the chance to play in the World Cup Panama brings back essentially the same team with the same mission. The question is can they have similar results.
Panama’s biggest strength is their spine. Goalkeeper Jaime Penedo (L.A. Galaxy,) defenders Harold Cummings and Roman Torres (Millionarios) and midfielder Gabriel Gomez will provide the team with some consistency and a level of composure. Prior to last month’s 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Ecuador (to be fair that match was being played in elevation in Ecuador) Panama had not allowed more than a goal in three friendlies. Their defending will get them out of some tough situations.
But to make it deep in this tournament this team needs Blas Perez (FC Dallas) to keep his head in the game. Perez can perform the miracles but is often his own worst enemy, drawing unnecessary cards and putting his team in difficult spots. Perez represents Panama’s one true attacking threat (no one should trust Gabriel Torres) and every time he gets in trouble he puts his team at risk. Teams like Honduras will use this to their advantage.
Michael Bradley on the ball v Switzerland
Photo: US Soccer
United States-We already talked about the U.S.A. in greater depth in another preview but to make things short and sweet: this is not a cakewalk for the U.S. Honduras and Panama have caused trouble for the U.S. in the past because both have such a dogged defensive style and can poach on defensive miscues. Haiti also have another pieces to make things challenging for Jurgen Klinsmann’s side.
That being said, the U.S. should get through this group. Having Honduras first (a re-match of the 2013 Gold Cup Final) first helps because it will likely be their most physically demanding match. If they can get 4 points out of their first two matches that should give them the top spot and keep them away from Costa Rica.
Expected Finish: U.S.A., Panama, Honduras, and Haiti
