U.S., Mexico are favorites, but nothing would surprise
Three former champions and a Caribbean Cinderella.
That’s what soccer’s Gold Cup semifinals feature tonight at Soldier Field, where the U.S. plays Canada in the first match and Mexico plays -- gulp -- Guadeloupe in the second.
It should all be pretty straightforward, with the U.S. and Mexico advancing to Sunday’s final, but as Guadeloupe’s Jocelyn Angloma and teammates have shown with their improbable run through the tournament, all bets are off.
“We have no pressure,” said Angloma, a 41-year-old former French international. “We have the talent and we know it.”
Aware that upsets are possible, American star Landon Donovan echoed that thought in looking ahead to Sunday. “Playing Mexico at Soldier Field is pretty heavy,” he said. “I think it would be great. But neither us nor them are there yet.”
Standing in the U.S. team’s way is a Canadian squad that has grown in strength during the 12-nation event. A Gold Cup winner in 2000, Canada would like nothing more than to derail the three-time and defending champions.
“They’ve played well,” U.S. Coach Bob Bradley said Wednesday. “Their attacking players are all very dangerous.”
Canada’s lineup features capable European-based players such as Julian DeGuzman and Atiba Hutchinson as well as Dwayne DeRosario from the Major League Soccer champion Houston Dynamo, not to mention a couple of Galaxy players in Ante Jazic and Kevin Harmse.
“Canada feels like they can win the game,” Donovan said. “A lot of their players play in MLS, so we know them pretty well. But we think that if we play like we’ve been playing that we’re good enough to beat them.”
Unlike the teams the U.S. has played in the Gold Cup, Canada matches up well in size, if not in team speed.
“They look pretty athletic,” said U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra. “If they come out and attack us, I think we’ll be all right, but we need to put our stamp on the game early and try to play it how we want to play it.”
The U.S. has won all four of its matches, the only semifinalist that can make that claim, but it slipped up in the final quarter of an hour in a 2-1 victory over Panama in its last match and almost allowed the Panamanians back into it.
“It was probably good for us because we kind of breezed through the first round,” Donovan said. “So if we get ahead against Canada, we’re going to be tuned in for the full 90 minutes, I hope.”
For Mexico Coach Hugo Sanchez, the stakes are even higher. Bradley’s position is safe, but Sanchez is far less secure. The team has underperformed since he took charge in February and a loss tonight against tiny Guadeloupe is not only unthinkable but would probably cost him his job.
Mexico’s team is “struggling, but yet they’re in the semis against a team that has zero experience in a game like this,” Donovan said. “They’ll probably be in the final.”
If Mexico, a four-time winner, reaches Sunday’s championship match and loses to the U.S., Sanchez would still be on thin ice, because Mexico would have lost twice to its greatest rival within five months. The only thing that might save him is that the Copa America in Venezuela begins immediately thereafter.
Of course, with Mexico opening against defending champion Brazil next Wednesday, Sanchez is in for a long few days, although his spirits were lifted Tuesday by the arrival of veteran defender Rafael Marquez from Spanish runner-up FC Barcelona. Marquez is unlikely to play tonight but could start Sunday.
Today is the deadline for teams to formally submit their Copa America rosters, but Bradley said the U.S. would not do so until after tonight’s semifinals, in case an injury causes a late switch.
