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With Canada set to co-host the FIFA World Cup in less than a year, the ascendant men’s national soccer team will measure its readiness over the next few weeks at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The biennial championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean kicked off on Saturday in the United States, and Canada plays its first match tonight at 10 p.m. ET in Vancouver against Honduras.
Here’s what to know about the tournament:
There are 16 teams, divided into four groups:
Group A: Mexico (ranked No. 17 in the world), Costa Rica (54), Suriname (137), Dominican Republic (139).
Group B: Canada (30), Honduras (75), El Salvador (81), Curacao (90).
Group C: Panama (33), Jamaica (63), Guatemala (106), Guadeloupe
Group D: United States (16), Saudi Arabia (58), Haiti (83), Trinidad and Tobago (100).
Yes, Saudi Arabia seems out of place. The Persian Gulf kingdom is of course not part of the CONCACAF confederation, but it was invited to the Gold Cup as a guest team — much like how Canada and five other CONCACAF countries joined last summer’s Copa America, the South American championship.
The top two teams in each group advance to the quarterfinals on June 28 and 29 in Glendale, Ariz., and Minneapolis. The semifinals are on July 2 in St. Louis and Santa Clara, Calif. The championship final is on July 6 in Houston.
With the exception of the Canada-Honduras matchup tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET at Vancouver’s BC Place, all games are taking place in the United States. The U.S. is also the primary host of next year’s World Cup, with Canada and Mexico serving as co-hosts.
After tonight, Canada heads to Houston to face Curacao on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and El Salvador next Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.
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Going back to the inaugural Gold Cup in 1991, Mexico has won nine of the 17 titles while the United has taken seven. The only other country to win the Cup is Canada, which pulled off a shocker in 2000, upsetting three-time defending champion Mexico in the quarterfinals before beating Colombia in the final in Los Angeles.
Mexico and the U.S. have alternated Gold Cup titles since 2011. The Mexicans are the defending champions after defeating Panama in the 2023 final in L.A. Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the United States via penalty shootout.
The U.S. and Mexico are more or less co-favourites in the betting markets, both listed at around 2/1 to win the Cup. Canada is next at about 5/1, followed by Saudi Arabia at 8/1.
The Canadians are a trendy pick to win their first Gold Cup in a quarter century after their excellent run at last summer’s Copa America, which was also hosted by the United States.
After giving Lionel Messi’s World Cup champion Argentina a run for their money in a 2-0 loss to open the South American championship, the guest Canadians advanced to the knockout stage while the U.S. and Mexico failed to get out of their groups. Canada won its quarterfinal vs. Venezuela in a penalty shootout before falling 2-0 to Argentina again in the semis. The Canadians nearly upset world No. 14 Uruguay in the third-place match, giving up the tying goal in stoppage time before losing a penalty shootout.
Canada also topped the standings in CONCACAF’s World Cup qualifying tournament in 2022 to clinch the country’s first World Cup berth in 36 years. So, despite remaining well behind the U.S. and Mexico in the world rankings, there’s an argument to be made that Canada might actually be the best team in the region now.
One reason why some people are high on Canada winning this Gold Cup is that they’re down on the United States. The Americans entered the tournament with four straight losses, falling to Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League Finals in March before dropping back-to-back home friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland this month — the latter by a score of 4-0.
The U.S. righted the ship on Sunday by pounding 100th-ranked Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 in its Gold Cup opener, but tougher matchups await in its group with the Saudis and Haiti. Also, star winger Christian Pulisic is skipping the tournament (and apparently feuding with U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino) after a long season with AC Milan.
If the Americans flop (again), Canada will still likely have to get past Mexico, which won the Nations League title and is at pretty much full strength for the Gold Cup. El Tri can also count on having a boisterous crowd behind them for the final in Houston, which has a large Mexican-American population. However, Mexico had a tougher time than expected in its tournament opener on Saturday, holding on for a 3-2 win over the 139th-ranked Dominican Republic.
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The big one is star captain Alphonso Davies, who’s expected to be sidelined until the fall due to the torn ACL he suffered during Canada’s 2-1 win over the U.S. in the inconsequential third-place match at the CONCACAF Nations League Finals. Forward Liam Millar and defenders Moïse Bombito and Sam Adekugbe are also out, while key midfielder Stephen Eustaquio won’t be able to join Canada until his pro team, FC Porto, is eliminated from the FIFA Club World Cup, also taking place in the United States. Porto opened with a draw and continues group play through Monday — the day before Canada’s final group match.
Canada will also be without head coach Jesse Marsch for its first two matches as he serves a suspension stemming from his red card for arguing with the referee during the Nations League match against the U.S.
The Canadian player to watch right now is forward Jonathan David. The all-time leading scorer for the men’s national team has three goals in three starts this year for Canada. He scored twice in a 4-2 win over Ukraine on June 7 as part of the Canadian Shield mini-tournament in Toronto. Canada won it despite losing its other match in a penalty shootout to Ivory Coast
For more on David, read this piece by CBC Sports contributor Chris Jones. And here’s more on Canada’s roster for the Gold Cup.
