Gold Cup Group A: Game 3- Canada vs Costa Rica

An impressive Canadian side go into the final game of the group stages with one foot already inside the quarter finals. Barring any miracles and collapses, we should be able to win this group, hopefully undefeated.

Venue: FIU Stadium Miami, Florida
Time: 7:00 PM EST
Canada 2-0-0 (Jamaica 1-0, El Salvador 1-0)
Costa Rica 1-0-1 (Costa Rica 1-2 El Salvador, Jamaica 0-1 Costa Rica)

Canada put in yet another solid performance on Tuesday night, taking advantage of a sub-par El Salvadorian squad on way to a 1-0 victory.

Again, it was Ali Gerba who came through with the lone goal, his 4th goal in 3 games, including the 2 he scored against Guatemala in a friendly. Our defence continues to work well together, especially Klukowski and Jakovic, as in the current four game winning streak we have yet to concede a goal. Our boys will be more than willing to shut down a tricky Costa Rican side on Friday night.

Costa Rica is 1-1-0 after a close game with El Salvador, which ended in defeat, and an unimpressive victory over a disappointing Jamaican side.

Jamaica played a man down after a midfielder Rudolph Austin was shown a straight red card by referee Jair Marrufo for his tackle against Borges in the 35th minute. But the Reggae Boyz held their own with 10 men, pressing the attack at the start of the second half before surrendering the decisive goal to Borges.

A look at:

Costa Rica
Gold Cup Appearances: 14
Gold Cup Titles: 3 (1963, 1969, 1989)

Key Players:
M Walter Centeno (19G in 128A)
F Alvaro Saborio (14G in 47A)
D Harold Wallace (3G in 91A)
M Celso Borges (5G in 12A)

Some comments from players:

“For us, I thought it was a great performance from start to finish,”. “We went out and had a plan and stuck with it. “We’re a well-organized soccer team and we got the goal we were looking for. We were very good defensively.” -Atiba Hutchinson

“We know they need to come out and get a result so they can advance to the next round,”. “They are one of the leading nations in CONCACAF so it will be a good test for us.” -Paul Stalteri

“We’ve come along quicker than I thought because we didn’t have a lot of time together,”. “Tonight, was for me, pleasing, because we played more consistently than we did the game before.”

“We are just happy to get the two victories and to be playing consistently,” Canada manager Stephen Hart said. “Whether we are the surprise of the tournament or not that’s other people’s thoughts.

“We are quite aware that in the group we can still finish third. Our main priority is to get a result out of the game.” -Stephen Hart

And a warning to the Costa Ricans from El Salvador:
“Canada denied us space and did not allow us to play the football we are accustomed to,” “You have to credit them. Defensively we did well but our attack left a lot to be desired. We could not penetrate their defence.” - El Salvador manager Carlos De Los Lobos

Possible Starting XI: Gonzalez; Wallace, Fernandez, Marshall, Delgado; Sirias, Centeno, Borges, Alonso; Ledezma, Saborio

If Canada can overcome the surface concerns and continues its strong group performances, it could help soothe another disappointment in World Cup qualifiers, and possibly head into the quarters undefeated and with high confidence.

Prediction:
Canada 2-1 Costa Rica