Mexico is back to the Gold Cup semifinals for the fifth tournament in a row as they held on for a 1-0 win over Honduras in the quarterfinals. An early fourth-minute goal from Rodolfo Pizarro was enough for El Tri, whose defense held strong for the win.
The Mexicans have conceded just one goal in four games in the tournament, and have kept three clean sheets in a row. That includes their goalless draw in their group game against Jamaica.
However, the attack has been very unconvincing throughout the tournament, and their underwhelming performances have put even more pressure on under-fire manager Juan Carlos Osorio. Despite dominating possession against Jamaica, they were unable to find a way through.
Mexico, though, has a very good record against the Reggae Boyz. El Tri are now unbeaten in their last five meetings against Jamaica. They’ve won three of those games, with two draws.
Jamaica is back to the semifinals for the second Gold Cup running after they beat Canada 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Romario Williams scored the decisive second goal, his second in the tournament.
The Reggae Boyz famously beat the USMNT 2-1 in last year’s semifinal to reach their first ever Gold Cup final. Unfortunately, they lost out to Mexico, 3-1, in the final.
However, they did give El Tri a lot of trouble in their meeting during the group stage. They did well to defend deep and force the Mexicans to break them down, which they were unable to do. Look for them to try and come out with the strategy in their semifinal matchup and frustrate the unconvincing Mexicans.
Writer’s Prediction
Mexico (-225)makes it back to another Gold Cup final with a 2-1 win.
