Gold Cup Group A: Game 2- El Salvador vs Canada

Both winners from Friday nights opening matches will meet at Crew Stadium in Columbus to potentially seal a spot in the quarter finals.

Venue: Crew Stadium Columbus, Ohio
Time: 9:00 PM EST
Canada 1-0-0 (1-0 Jamaica)
El Salvador 1-0-0 (2-1 Costa Rica)

An organized Canadian side opened the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup impressively with a 1-0 win over Group A opponent Jamaica last Friday in Los Angeles, Canada’s third consecutive victory under interim coach Stephen Hart. The goal is to extend that streak against a strong El Salvador squad Tuesday night at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Canada played Jamaica even and Gerba scored a nice goal to win. The only real spot of concern is that De Guzman was booked. When Canada’s back four got the ball against Jamaica, Jamaica rarely contested the first pass to a midfielder. Most of what Canada does flows through De Guzman, and Canada had more space in which to operate once they figured out that De Guzman did not need to retreat quite so deeply to get the ball.

El Salvador will be a lot less patient. Manager de los Cobos was pleased his side snapped their losing streak against Costa Rica, but said that his team won’t continue to get results by sitting back and waiting for counterattacking opportunities.

Our opponents for tomorrow nights game:

El Salvador
Gold Cup Appearances: 5
Gold Cup Titles: 0
Best Finish: Quarters, 2002-2003

Key Players:
F Rudis Corrales (Aguila) (13G in 52A)
M Elisio Quantanilla (Ermis Aradippou) (12G in 37A)
D Alfredo Pacheco (NY Red Bulls) (6G in 68A)
M Osael Romero (Vista Hermosa) (6G in 28A)

An organized Canadian side opened the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup impressively with a 1-0 win over Group A opponent Jamaica last Friday in Los Angeles, Canada’s third consecutive victory under interim coach Stephen Hart. The goal is to extend that streak against a strong El Salvador squad Tuesday night at Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

“It’s obviously important in the first game of a tournament to get off to a good start and we managed to do that,” Canadian captain Paul Stalteri said Monday after the team’s practice at the Columbus Crew facility. “It was a bit of a tricky game for some of us coming off of our summer breaks. It was important that we were well organized, and found our rhythm early in the game. “Tactically, we weren’t spot on but we were close.”

Stalteri knows the El Salvador match will be a challenge. The captain emphasized the need for Canada to be as sharp as the previous outing, while maintaining possession of the ball for as long as possible rather than chase defensively. El Salvador sits alongside Canada with three points atop Group A – considered the Gold Cup’s “group of death” – following a 2-1 win over Costa Rica Friday.

“It’s important that we stay focused, stay disciplined and stay organized,” added Toronto midfielder Julian De Guzman. “If we can do those three things I think we can come away with three points.”
Canada’s difficult draw hasn’t phased De Guzman or his teammates. “This is a wake-up call,” he said. “It’s never going to be easy to be one of the best in CONCACAF. The group that we’re in, it puts us in a certain state of mind and I think we do well when we’re focused.”

Possible Starting XI: Montes; Escobar, Pacheco, Salazar, Gonzalez; Sanchez, Castillo, Coreas, Martinez; Romero, Corrales

The key in upcoming games will be sustaining the performance for a full 90 minutes. Hart admits that the tournament’s rigorous travel schedule has impacted preparation time but is confident in his players. I expect Canada to pull through this one with a victory.

Prediction:
El Salvador 1-2 Canada