Gold Cup Quarterfinals Come To Baltimore, Headlined By USA-Cuba Match
Provided By TiqIQ
The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup begins the knockout stage this Saturday with four must-watch affairs in the quarterfinals. The round will begin in Baltimore, MD, before finishing up the following day in East Rutherford, NJ.
Starting off the quarterfinal fixtures is Group A winner the United States and Group C third-place finishers Cuba. The US advanced from their group relatively easily with seven points, thanks to wins over Honduras and Haiti and a draw with Panama. Cuba, meanwhile, sealed their trip to the knockout stage on the final day of Group C play, as Maikel Reyes' diving header propelled them to a 1-0 victory over Guatemala. Overcoming a 6-0 blowout at the hands of Mexico and 3-0 loss to Trinidad & Tobago, the Cubans can take away signs of progression regardless of this game's result. Overall, though, this is a game that should easily be in the Americans' favor, which is why fans are scouring to attend these Gold Cup quarterfinal matchups. Tickets are averaging $68.13 for the quarterfinals games at M&T Bank Stadium, with a $33 get-in price, according to international ticket reseller Ticketbis.
Clint Dempsey has been the top performer for the United States thus far, having scored three of the nation's four goals in group play. Cuba will need to find a way to generate offense in order to have a chance at upsetting the heavily favored US. They could find this in exploiting the absence of United States center back John Brooks, who will miss the game due to yellow card accumulation.
The second match on Saturday consists of Haiti squaring off with Jamaica. Haiti finished second in Group A behind the United States, while Jamaica topped Group B. These nations played in 2009, finishing in a 2-2 draw, setting the tone for this clash. Speed is the key trait of this Jamaican squad, but they will be missing four players, with two absent due to suspension and two injured.
Haiti has been one of the upstarts of the Gold Cup, exhibiting a physical presence that has flustered opponents to the point of breaking. Forward Duckens Nazon will be called upon again to produce goals, having tallied a memorable strike against Panama and the winner against Honduras.
Sunday's quarterfinal matches begin with Trinidad & Tobago taking on Panama at MetLife Stadium, with tickets averaging $102.55 according to TiqIQ. Trinidad & Tobago enter this fixture off of the most exciting game of the group play, drawing 4-4 with Mexico on Wednesday night to solidify their advancement. As a result, they finished as the winners of Group C and have a balanced attack, with three players having scored two goals in the group stage. Panama advanced after placing third in Group A and has yet to look their best on the pitch. Forward Blas Perez is the leader for the Panamanians and needs to put together a stellar performance to give them a chance at beating the high-flying Soca Warriors.
The final quarterfinal will be a rugged affair between Mexico and Costa Rica. Mexico advanced as the second-place team from Group C, which comes as a shock after being heavily favored entering the Gold Cup. After getting off to a good start demolishing Cuba, El Tri has cooled off. Costa Rica finds themselves in the knockout stage following a second-place outing in Group B. Failing to register a win, their draw with Jamaica was enough to seal a chance at upsetting Mexico. Before the tournament began, this match would clearly be in Mexico's favor, but after what Costa Rica has shown up to this point, we could be in for a different result.
