A look back at our Gold Cup success, failure, and 2009 predictions

Our first taste of victory in the soccer world as a nation.

The 1985 CONCACAF Championships also served as qualification for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. I’m going to try and stay away from that topic this whole blog. Canada kicked off the “tournament” in Victoria, B.C against Haiti and won 2-0. A week later, again in Victoria, Canada defeated a surprising Guatemalan side 2-1, but later tied Guatemala 1-1 on May 5. Canada then secured qualification to the second round with a repeat 2-0 victory against Haiti in Port au Princes. Canada finished the group stage with 3 wins and 1 draw, good enough for 7 points and top spot.

The tournament was very different than it is now, as the three groups winners were situated into another group, with the winner being crowned champions, and given a spot in the World Cup. Canada kept it to the last game against Honduras, to win the title, defeating the Hondurans 2-1 in St. John’s.

The 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fifth edition of the Gold Cup, and was held in the United States, in Los Angeles, Miami, and San Diego. The format of the tournament changed from 1998; it was expanded to twelve teams, split into four groups of three. The top two teams in each group would advance to the quarterfinals. Peru and Colombia were invited from CONMEBOL, and the Republic of Korea were invited from AFC.

Canada began qualification for the the tournament with a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Cuba. Yet, back to back 2-1 victories against El Salvador and Haiti proved enough for Canada to win the group with Haiti coming in second.

Group D consisted of Canada, Costa Rica and Korea Republic. Canada drew Costa Rica 2-2 and later Korea 2-2. No games were won in this group, and due to Costa Rica’s goal advantage they qualified automatically, and the tiebreaker between Canada and Korea was decided by: a cointoss!

Qualification to the 1/4’s was secured and a match with Mexico awaited. Mexico took the lead on 35 minutes with a Ramon Ramirez strike, and Canada equalized in the 83′ with a goal by Carlo Corrazin. And later, in extra time Richard Hastings scored the golden goal early in the 92′.

Canada next faced Trinidad and Tobago in Los Angeles after T&T defeated Costa Rica 2-1 in extra time. The game was off to a slow start, but through defender Mark Watson, Canada advanced to the final with a 1-0 victory.

The final was set: Canada vs Columbia to be played in Los Angeles.

Enjoy:

Goals by Jason deVos and a Carlo Corrazin penalty secured Canada’s first Gold Cup championship!

(Note: I do not consider the third place finishes at 2002 and 2007 as successes!)

And most recently: 2007.

This ought to sum the tournament up:

There were actually some positives out of this tournament, even though all the controversy overshadowed them. #1, we got out of the group stage and actually won it for once. #2, Julian de Guzman was on fire, tournament MVP and deserved it. #3, We’re pissed now coming into this tournament, with 2007 still fresh in our minds! We will seek redemption!

So, what do our chances look like in this years tournament? Current odds are as follows:
USA 2.50
Mexico 3.00
Costa Rica 10.00
Honduras 18.00
Jamaica 26.00
Panama 40.00
Canada 41.00
El Salvador 51.00
Guadeloupe 75.00

Canada getting no love! But again, these are odds, and in this tournament anything can happen.

So here are my predictions for each Group. Im using my head here, not going with my heart cause I’d pick us to dominate the US in the final. How sweet would that be. (feel free to add your own predictions in the comments section)

Group A
*Costa Rica -6 pts
*El Salvador -4 pts
*Canada -4 pts
Jamaica -1 pt

Group B
*Honduras -6 pts
*USA -6pts
*Haiti -3pts
Grenada -3pts

Group C
*Mexico -9 pts
*Panama -6 pts
Guadeloupe -3 pts
Nicaragua -0 pts

Costa Rica vs USA = USA
Honduras vs Canada = Honduras
Panama vs El Salvador = El Salvador
Mexico vs Haiti = Mexico

USA vs Honduras = Honduras
El Salvador vs Mexico = Mexico

Mexico vs Honduras = Mexico – Champions

*Coming soon: Gold Cup 2009 Game 1: Canada vs Jamaica Preview