Gold Cup looks promising for Concacaf’s powerful, except the USMNT

By Morgan J. Wolf

The first round of group stage games in the Gold Cup is over. Unsurprisingly, most of the bigger teams like Mexico, Canada and Jamaica performed well; however, the host nation, the U.S., fared poorly against Panama, immediately casting doubt on the team’s outlook for the rest of the tournament.

Canada inaugurated the competition facing French Guiana. Unfortunately for the underdogs, Chelsea and France legend Florent Malouda was not allowed to play for the Guianeses due to FIFA regulations. They performed admirably, though, even giving Canada a scare after scoring two quick goals within two minutes in the second half as rain poured down to bring a previously dominant 3-0 score to 3-2. Fortunately for Canada, their savior came in the form of 16-year-old Alphonso Davies, who became the youngest player to ever score in a Gold Cup match.

Even better: Davies netted twice to make the score 4-2. He will be a player to watch for years to come as his speed is game-changing and his intelligence with the ball at his feet is akin to that of a player well beyond his years.

Mexico and Jamaica are both in Group C. They emerged victorious, though the victories didn’t come without a little pushback from their opponents. Jamaica played first against Curaçao, and put on a performance that was typical and expected of them. With fast-paced play, Jamaica was able to win 2-1 thanks to a goal from their star striker, Darren Mattocks. And of course, no Jamaican victory would be complete without a great performance by their star goalkeeper, Andre Blake, who made a few good saves to make sure that Curaçao couldn’t pull off an upset.

Mexico played second against El Salvador and staged a dominant performance. Throughout the game, El Tri dictated pace and controlled possession. Except for the one goal that El Salvador scored, Mexico was virtually untouchable. The unquestionable star of the match was Elías Hernandez, who had a hand in all three Mexican goals, scoring one and assisting on the other two. He monopolized possession and kept Salvadorian defenders on their heels with his unique combination of speed and skill.

Unfortunately, not every major team was victorious. The hosts, the U.S., put together a frankly embarrassing performance against a Panama team that they can’t seem to crack for some reason. The previous three meetings between the two teams ended in 1-1 draws, and this meeting was no different. But, honestly, the U.S. should have lost this game, and it was only thanks to missed opportunities by Panama that the Americans didn’t lose 3-1. Throughout the game, the American midfield looked disorganized and confused and the defense wasn’t much better either. The lone bright spot was striker Dom Dwyer, who scored the U.S.’s only goal of the game. He was incredibly effective with the limited amount of touches he had in the game.

Reflecting on the first round of group stage matches, it looks like these four teams will be productive through the rest of the group stage. One game to look forward to will be when Mexico and Jamaica face off in group play on Thursday. There are many positives to take away, but the U.S. could be in for a rude awakening in the knockout round if they can’t step up their level of play.