[This is the final article in the four-part preview. In the previous articles I went over the stadiums, overall setup, and all four groups. In this article I will discuss the favored teams to win and how I think the Gold Cup will play out.]
Favored Teams:
The two teams that are favored to win the Gold Cup are the USA and Mexico. This is a rivalry that started back in 1934 when they first played each other in Rome, and the US won 4-2. The most recent meeting was this year’s CONCACAF Nations League on June 6th, where the US won 3-2. Despite those scores, Mexico is the one with the better record: 36W-15D-20L.
Since the renaming of the tournament in 1991, these two teams, except once by Canada, are the only two teams to have won the tournament, sharing a combined 14 wins out of the 15 editions so far.
USA
The USA are one of the favorites because of their new generation of players. This is the first time that the USMNT has had more players from their 23-man squad in European top-flight teams than in the MLS. Now, as stated in a previous article, we know that head coach Gregg Berhalter has decided not to use the European league players and focus on veterans and youngsters in the states as a way to seeing how the rest of the team is doing.
The USMNT is still thought of as favorites because of their recent form and their history of success in the competition.
Mexico
Mexico or El Tri, are considered favorites because they have won the Cup more than anyone else. I think that their advantage is that they are not making new and drastic changes to their already successful squad. They were able to make it to the CONCACAF Nations League finals with their current squad. Since winning the previous Gold Cup on July 7th, 2019, they have only lost 2 out of their 12 matches so far.
With the help of star players Héctor Herrera and Hirving Lozano, they will hard to beat. I see them making it to the finals.
Below is How I think the tournament will play out.
Teams to advance from each group:
- Mexico and El Salvador
- USA and Canada
- Costa Rica and Jamaica
- Honduras and Qatar
Quarterfinal matches:
- Honduras vs. El Salvador (with the winner being Honduras)
- USA vs. Jamaica (with the winner being USA)
- Mexico vs. Qatar (with the winner being Mexico)
- Costa Rica vs. Canada (with the winner being Costa Rica)
Semi-final matches:
- Honduras vs. USA (with the winner being USA)
- Mexico vs. Costa Rica (with the winner being Mexico)
Final:
USA vs. Mexico
I think Mexico will retain their title and be champions again.
Photo: Allegiant Stadium, Wikipedia, Creative Commons
