Gold Cup 2015 Soccer Preview & Predictions: Who Wins? [VOTE]
Just days after South America had its biggest soccer tournament, the Copa America, it's now time for North America to have theirs.
Okay, so maybe the CONCACAF Confederation can't exactly match the intensity of CONMEBOL, but this competition still promises to be a must-watch for soccer fans everywhere. A total of 12 national teams will participate in three groups with eight advancing to the knockout "playoff" stage.
So who wins it this year?
Historically speaking, two countries have dominated this event. Mexico and the United States have won 11 of the 12 Gold Cups. Canada won in 2000 against Colombia in the only Gold Cup not to feature Mexico or the U.S. In case you were wondering, Mexico is 4-1 against the U.S. in the finals.
Mexico is the heavy favorites in Group C ahead of Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala. Mexico is ranked No. 23 in the world, the second highest in the CONCACAF confederation, but they had a huge loss last week. Forward Javier Hernandez fractured his collarbone against Honduras in an international friendly. Giovani dos Santos will now have to lead the Mexican offense.
Head coach Miguel Herrera still has a strong squad around him in Andrés Guardado and Francisco Javier Rodríguez. The biggest advantage gong for Mexico this year is goalkeeping. Guillermo Ochoa of Malaga will be starting in net for Mexico.
On the flip side, Mexico's two biggest threats, the U.S. and Costa Rica will not have their starting goalkeepers. Tim Howard has decided to take the year off from international play, and Patrick Pemberton is starting for the injured Keylor Navas of Costa Rica. That's a big advantage for Mexico.
Outside of the U.S., Mexico and Costa Rica, there are no teams ranked in the top 50 in this year's tournament. There were six top 50 teams in the Copa America.
The U.S. still has a great shot to win this. They should be able to take care of business in Group A against Panama, Haiti and Honduras, and let's not forget they are the defending champions. The U.S. defeated Panama in the finals in 2013. The biggest issue for the US. team has been closing games late, defense and maturity. This squad still lacks leadership. It's time for Jozy Altidore to take that next step.
Prediction
As hinted, the only three squads that pose a real threat are the U.S., Mexico and Costa Rica. Mexico is without their best scorer, but they do have their starting goalkeeper. Costa Rica has a great defense led by Michael Umaña, but can they score enough goals? The U.S. roster is constantly in flux, and without Howard in net there's no telling how many goals this team will allow.
Mexico wins their seventh Gold Cup championship.
Who wins the 2015 Gold Cup? Feel free to vote in our fan poll below.
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