Concacaf Gold Cup Preview: Why Canada should cruise to the knockout round

Who are the real kings of Concacaf? We’re about to find out. 

The recent Concacaf Nations League finals was only the appetizer. The upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup is the main course. 

The top countries from across North and Central America and the Caribbean, alongside 2022 FIFA World Cup host Qatar, will square off in the biennial Concacaf Gold Cup, which determines the continental champion. 

Here’s what you need to know about the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup 

How does the Gold Cup differ from the Nations League? 

The Gold Cup is Concacaf’s top competition, featuring the region’s top 16 national teams, and crowns the continent’s official champion every two years. Think of the Gold Cup as the Concacaf version of the European or South American championship.

The Gold Cup dates back to 1991, when it was first won by the United States. The Americans have won the competition seven times, most recently in 2021. Mexico is the most successful team in tournament history, with eight titles. Canada is the only other nation to win the Gold Cup, having been crowned champions in 2000. 

The Concacaf Nations League is the region’s secondary championship, founded in 2017. It’s a multi-tiered tournament (much like the UEFA Nations League) that involves every nation in Concacaf. The U.S. won both tournaments, in 2021 and 2023. 

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When is the Gold Cup? 

The tournament kicks off on June 24 with the group stage, which concludes on July 4. The quarter-finals are July 8-9, the semifinals are July 12, and the final takes place July 16 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. 

Matches will also take place in 13 other cities across the United States, and at BMO Field in Toronto.   

How does the tournament work? 

The 16-team field is divided into four round-robin groups. The top two teams in each group at the end of the opening stage move to the knockout round. The eight teams will fight their way through the quarter-finals and the semi-finals before there are two nations left standing for the final. 

Here are the groups:

Group A: United States, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Saint Kitts & Nevis 

Group B: Mexico, Haiti, Honduras, Qatar  

Group C: Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, Martinique 

Group D: Canada, Guatemala, Cuba, Guadeloupe  

Who’s on Canada’s roster? 

In total, 16 of the 23 players who were part of Canada’s squad at the Concacaf Nations League team have been called for duty at the Gold Cup. 

The absentees are veteran midfielder Atiba Hutchinson (who retired after the Nations League), and six of the team’s more high-profile players: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Jonathan David (Lille), Cyle Larin (Club Brugge), Alistair Johnston (Celtic), Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge) and Ismaël Koné (Watford).  

Davies and the rest of the absentees need a rest ahead of their respective European club campaigns, especially after competing at a winter FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Hence, coach John Herdman’s decision not to bring them to the Gold Cup. But omitting them from his latest squad also gives Herdman a chance to experiment and look at some youngsters and deepen his player pool. 

Some of the prospects named to Herdman’s roster who could get opportunities at the Gold Cup include a host of uncapped players: goalkeeper Tom McGill (Brighton & Hove Albion), defenders Dominick Zator (Korona Kielce), Moïse Bombito (Colorado Rapids) and Zac McGraw (Columbus Crew), midfielder Victor Loturi (Ross County) and Ali Ahmed (Vancouver Whitecaps), and forward Jacen Russell-Rowe (Columbus). Winger Jacob Shaffelburg (four caps) could also get some playing time based on his solid 2023 MLS season with Nashville SC. 

“We’ve got some young lads that we’ll start looking at for this Gold Cup,” Herdman said after last Sunday’s loss to the U.S. 

Herdman has still managed to draft in a number of European-based players for the Gold Cup, including influential midfielder Stephen Eustáquio (FC Porto), goalkeeper Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), defenders Steven Vitória (Chaves) and Sam Adekugbe (Hatayspor FC), and winger Junior Hoilett (Reading FC). 

Toronto FC’s Richie Laryea and Jonathan Osorio, who both started in Canada’s loss vs. the U.S. in the Concacaf Nations League final, have been recalled for the Gold Cup. Zachary Brault-Guillard (CF Montreal) is also on the Gold Cup squad. 

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Group D: Canada should cruise into the knockout round  

The Canadians open group stage play on June 27 vs. Guadeloupe at Toronto’s BMO Field, before taking on Guatemala (July 1) and Cuba (July 4) in Houston.

Herdman won’t admit it publicly because the last thing he wants to do is give Canada’s first-round opponents any extra motivation, but the group stage draw couldn’t have worked out any better for his team. All three games are very winnable against much weaker opponents, none of whom are ranked in the top 100 in the world. Canada is 47th in the FIFA rankings, well ahead of Guatemala (No. 166) and Cuba (No. 165). Guadeloupe is unranked because it is not a member of FIFA.

Canada has won 10 of 13 games against Guatemala (with one draw), dating back to their first meeting in 1977, and has won four in a row. Cuba hasn’t fared much better against Canada, with just two wins in 15 matches. The Cubans have lost six in a row by a combined 20-1 versus Canada. Canada has won two of its three previous encounters against Guadeloupe, suffering an upset loss at the 2007 Gold Cup.  

Herdman’s team has reached a point where it can rightfully consider itself among the elite nations of Concacaf, so there’s really no excuse for not taking all nine points on offer from such a weak group – even without the likes of Alphonso Davies and the other European-based players. Anything less would be a letdown. 

The knockout stage of the tournament is when it’ll get very interesting for Canada. Should the three other top seeds win their groups, the Canadians must travel down a tough road in order to win their second Gold Cup: most likely against Jamaica in the quarter-finals, with the potential to meet Mexico (in the semis) and either Costa Rica or the U.S. (in the final). 

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THE OTHER GROUPS 

Group A: U.S. look to repeat as Gold Cup champions  

The United States, ranked No. 13 in the world by FIFA, enters this year’s Gold Cup as the reigning champions and the favourite to win it all. The Americans were the only Concacaf team to reach the knockout round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup – Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico all bowed out in the group stage – and are riding high after beating the Canadians in last week’s Concacaf Nations League final. 

Like Canada, the U.S.’s top European-based players who were at the Nations League have been given a rest, and interim coach B.J. Callaghan will rely on a squad mostly made of players from MLS. In total, only five players from the Nations League roster remain with the team for the Gold Cup. Still, that should be enough to see them comfortably win Group A ahead of Jamaica (No. 63), Trinidad & Tobago (No. 104), and Saint Kitts & Nevis (No. 139). 

Group B: Can Mexico rebound from Nations League disappointment?  

The draw wasn’t too kind to Mexico (ranked No. 15 by FIFA), as it was put into the “Group of Death” against regional stalwarts Honduras (No. 80), an ever-improving Haiti (No. 87), and Qatar (No. 61), fresh off hosting the World Cup.  

Argentine Diego Cocca was hired as coach of the Mexican national team in February, but he lasted barely four months on the job, as he was fired last week in the aftermath of Mexico’s 3-0 loss to the U.S. in the semi-finals of the Concacaf Nations League. Jaime Lozano, a former Mexican international, was appointed the interim coach.

Lozano essentially named the same Gold Cup roster (with a few exceptions), and even with all the chaos behind the scenes, Mexico is one of the favourites at this tournament. 

Group C: First place up for grabs between Costa Rica and Panama  

Group C should be a two-horse race between Costa Rica (ranked No. 39 by FIFA) and Panama (No. 58). Costa Rica is a regional heavyweight that qualified for last year’s World Cup in Qatar, while Panama has been a team on the rise in Concacaf the last few years and finished in third place at the recent Nations League. Both El Salvador (No. 75) and Martinque (unranked, not a member of FIFA) shouldn’t give either team much trouble. 

The Costa Ricans have a point to prove after a World Cup campaign during which they were outscored 12-2, and having lost three of their four games since Qatar, including the last three.

John Molinaro, one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, has covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.      

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