Gold Cup 2017: 5 things we learned
The Gold Cup was played to mixed reviews. Here are the five takeaways from a tournament some would rather forget.
The summer soccer calendar is loaded with games. Whether it’s the Confederations Cup, European clubs traveling the world on preseason tours or the MLS regular season, there’s no shortage of games on TV or at your local stadium. The one tournament that mattered most, at least to American fans, was the Gold Cup.
Expectations ran high ahead of a tournament that didn’t deliver the emotion and entertainment value fans craved until the semifinals, when the United States defeated Costa Rica, and Jamaica stunned Mexico to reach the final. Here are the five biggest takeaways from CONCACAF’s centerpiece tournament, one that will go down as the strangest, if not worst, Gold Cup ever.
Mexico never shined
Fresh off his side’s fourth-place finish at the Confederations Cup, Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio fielded a B squad of Liga MX players, with the exception of Houston Dynamo star Erick “Cubo” Torres. The team slogged through the group stage, but never played the attractive soccer we’re used to seeing from the regulars. Osorio himself wasn’t on the sidelines, forced to endure a six-match ban handed down to him by FIFA after the Confederations Cup.
There was hope the team would somehow get their act together and kick into gear during the knockout stages, but an uninspiring win against Honduras in the quarterfinals did nothing for the confidence of the players and their numerous fans living in the United States. Instead, El Tri fell to Jamaica in the semifinals, one of the biggest upsets in Gold Cup history, to give Osorio another headache as he prepares the team for next month’s World Cup qualifiers.
How do you solve a problem like Malouda?
The curious case of former French international Florent Malouda, who was born in French Guiana, added suspense and farce to the group stage. After being told Malouda was ineligible to play, French Guiana decided to field him nonetheless against Honduras in their second group stage match.
CONCACAF did nothing to stop him from taking the field and the 0-0 final score was overturned and made into a 3-0 victory for Honduras. The former Chelsea midfielder, who earned 80 caps for France, was deemed ineligible (since the confederation applied FIFA rules on cap-tied players despite French Guiana not being an independent nation and therefore not a FIFA member) on the eve of the tournament. CONCACAF said nothing to the team after they had placed him on the preliminary roster, an issue that could have been resolved well in advance of the tournament. CONCACAF could have avoided the problem, but instead waited until it was too late. Malouda was ultimately suspended and the team fined an undisclosed amount.
El Salvador win Suarez award
The other episode that left CONCACAF red-faced and forced to dole out suspensions was for the unsportsmanlike behavior of El Salvador against the United States in the quarterfinals. Two episodes that involved biting (one against Omar Gonzalez; the other involving Jozy Altidore) and one that involved nipple-pinching (Altidore again) marred the match.
The incidents rank up there as some of the most bizarre in the history of the Gold Cup, if not the sport as a whole. The Americans won 2-0, but CONCACAF handed down some hefty suspensions after the United States submitted a formal complaint following the game. Henry Romero and Darwin Ceren were suspended six and three games, respectively.
Canada show signs of improvement
Under new coach Octavio Zambrano, Canada looked like a much-improved side from the one that crashed out of World Cup qualifying last year without even making the Hexagonal. The 16-year-old Vancouver Whitecaps striker Alphonso Davies, who scored three goals, looked like the budding star he is, beating out defenders twice his age. For a team that haven’t qualified for a World Cup since 1986 (their only appearance), Canada looked a lot better than a slew of other teams, including Honduras, El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago.
Zambrano is no stranger when it comes to nurturing young talent. His experience as an MLS coach during the league’s early years gives him the patience and perspective it takes to rebuild a program from the bottom. Canada were eliminated by a strong Jamaica side loaded with MLS talent. Keep an eye on this Canada team. They remain a work in progress after missing out on Russia 2018, but this team could very well get stronger ahead of the 2022 World Cup cycle.
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Costa Rica fall in the semis
Costa Rica were supposed to be the dark horse team that were going to knock off the established powers to win their first Gold Cup. Despite bringing their starters, it didn’t happen. The Ticos fell in the semifinals to a United States side that finally put together a strong performance thanks to veterans like Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey.
This hiccup isn’t going to stop Costa Rica from surging over the next year. The team are poised to qualify for the World Cup and build on their Cinderella status achieved three years ago, when they reached the World Cup quarterfinals. Their match versus the United States at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on Sept. 1 could shake up the Hexagonal standings and provide another chapter in what has become a budding rivalry. The Gold Cup may have been an unnecessary appetizer, but the Hex will certainly provide a tasty main course with no room for error.