After a hard-fought Day 1 in the Gold Cup which saw the U.S. beat Honduras 2-1 and Haiti surprisingly tie Panama 1-1, we are all set for Group B to begin.
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Costa Rica are the heavy favorites to emerge from Group B, as Los Ticos look to kick on under new boss Paulo Wanchope and regain the form which saw them reach the World Cup quarterfinals in Brazil last summer. They Face Jamaica in their opening group game at the StubHub Center in California, while Canada will fancy its chances against El Salvador in the later game.
Below is a brief primer on what to expect from both games, while you can follow the action live by clicking on the link above.
Game 3: Costa Rica vs. Jamaica
When: Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST
Where: StubHub Center, Carson, CA
Live updates: NBCSports.com
Fresh off the back of signing for Sporting Lisbon from Fulham, Costa Rica’s captain Bryan Ruiz will be eager to prove his worth. The midfielder will try and link up with Arsenal forward Joel Campbell to cause Jamaica all kinds of problems in the final third. Also, watch out for Celso Borges breaking things up in midfield. He’s key to Costa Rica’s success and so is goalkeeper Keylor Navas but the Real Madrid man is missing through injury. As for the Reggae Boyz, they gave a good account of themselves at the Copa America last month but were eliminated at the group stage as they lost 1-0 to Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. There are plenty of players from MLS and the English leagues in Jamaica’s squad as Vancouver’s Darren Mattocks will be a livewire up front.
Game 4: El Salvador vs. Canada
When: Tuesday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Where: StubHub Center, Carson, CA
Live updates: NBCSports.com
This game is massive in terms of who will end up advancing into the quarterfinals. Canada and El Salvador are, on paper, the weaker teams in the group. Whoever win this will put themselves in a great position to advance. Canada has won four games on the spin, albeit against weak opposition, going into this one. That streak, plus a draw against Iceland, will give Benito Flores’ side plenty of confidence and if Orlando City’s Cyle Larin is on his game, this could be a comfortable victory for Les Rouges.