Gold Cup: the Teams and Players to Follow from the Highest Soccer Competition in Concacaf

The countdown comes to an end, between this Saturday, June 24, and Sunday, July 16, a new edition of the Gold Cup will take place, the highest soccer competition of Concacaf. In said event, 16 teams will try to keep the trophy of a tournament that comes after the uneven participation of the confederation teams in the last World Cup in Qatar, in which only the United States reached the round of 16. Mexico, Canada, and Costa Rica said goodbye in the first phase. Recently, the United States won the final of the Concacaf Nations League after defeating Canada in the final (2-0).

Mexico, United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Qatar (invited for the second consecutive time to the tournament, in 2021 were semifinalists) will integrate this new edition. The opening match will be between the reigning champions (United States) and Jamaica.

The favorites

There are several teams that due to their players, level, and style of play are candidates to win this tournament.

USA

The Americans arrive with all the parchments that make them the main candidate for the tournament: they are the current champions, they were the only Concacaf team to reach the round of 16 in the last World Cup, and they have just won the Concacaf Nations League, then of convincing victories against Mexico (3-0) and Canada (2-0). However, and as in the last edition, the Americans bring an alternative team to this edition, without the presence of footballers like Christian Pulisic, Brenden Aaronson, Timothy Weah, Giovanni Reyna, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams or Sergiño Dest. However, they have the participation of Matt Turner (substitute at Arsenal), De Andre Yedlin, Jordan Morris and the promising Jesús Ferreira (8 goals in 18 games with the adult team) and Gianluca Busio aspire to keep a new trophy and ratify they are the best in the area.

Canada

John Herdman's team is one of the ones that has shown the most progress in the territory in recent years, and they arrive at this tournament after being runners-up in the Concacaf Nations League, semifinalists in the 2021 Gold Cup and participants in the last World Cup. Without Alphonso Davies or Jonathan David for this appointment (their two top figures) the task seems difficult, but it is a team with clear ideas and a defined style of play. Its backbone is made up of goalkeeper Milan Borjan, central defender Steven Vitória and Porto midfielder Stephen Eustáquio. Thus, the team may well reach the final phases and, why not, win the championship.

Mexico

In Mexico, everything seems to be in chaos, after being left out of the first round of the World Cup in Qatar, coach Diego Cocca was fired, prior to this tournament and four months after taking office. Jaime Lozano took over in his place, who will be in charge of putting out the fire. Lozano led Mexico to get the bronze medal in the last Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 and in this Gold Cup he will once again trust those who were his pupils in that instance. Led by Sebastián Córdova, Uriel Antuna, César Montes, Luis Romo and Henry Martin, Mexico wants to be reborn, and this may be its chance to achieve it.

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Players to Watch out for 

In this tournament there will be various players who must be followed, as they will surely be protagonists.

Edson Alvarez (Mexico)

After great seasons with the Ajax jersey, and with the more than certain possibility of signing for Borussia Dortmund soon, the versatile Edson Álvarez seems to be the balance for this Mexican team. His flexibility, great adaptability (regardless of whether he plays central or defensive midfielder) and good positioning make him one of the main players to watch in this tournament.

Leon Bailey (Jamaica)

If Jamaica aspires to be one of the revelations of this edition, it is partly due to the presence of Leon Bailey, the left-winger of Aston Villa played 33 games this season with the shirt of the English team, registering 4 goals and 4 assists. His speed, great threat with meters ahead and decisive capacity place him in the spotlight. He and his teammates Demarai Gray (Everton), Michail Antonio (West Ham) and Ethan Pinnock (Brentford).

Santiago Gimenez (Mexico)

He was instrumental in helping Feyenoord break a 13-year losing streak without winning the Eredivisie, scoring 15 goals and distributing 3 assists in 30 games. Now, at the age of 22, Santiago Giménez seeks to be the 9th of the Mexican team and show that he can keep the starting shirt for the next challenges that lie ahead for Mexico. He will have to fight for the position with the attacker of America, Henry Martin.

Almoez Ali (Qatar)

For the second consecutive edition, Qatar was invited to the Gold Cup. In the previous edition they were semifinalists, and now they aspire to repeat that result, but the task will not be easy. They come from a disastrous World Cup and terrible results in lower categories. However, they trust the new process led by Colombia's former coach, Carlos Queiroz, and their goalscorer, Almoez Ali. Ali was the top scorer in the last Gold Cup, with 4 victories, and registered 42 goals in 88 games with the Qatar shirt. Although, like the whole team, he did not have a good first World Cup experience, if he is at a good level, he can make a difference at any time, as he demonstrated two years ago.