CONCACAF GOLDEN CUP 2015, the next challenge for the Canadian soccer team

Good news for the soccer fans! Right after the end of the Women's World Cup on July 5th, we will only have to wait one day until another major tournament starts. In this case, it will be the 23rd edition of the CONCACAF GOLD CUP, the regional championship for the federations of North and Central American and the Caribbean.

The format will be the same that we are seeing these days in the America Cup. three groups of 4 teams each, with the two best teams on each groups advancing to the Quarterfinals, accompanied by the best two third seeded teams.

Now I did not see a lot of all the teams taking part in the competition lately, but my gut is telling me that there are three main candidates to lift the trophy in Philadelphia on July 26th.

1- United States: How this team has evolved in the past 20 years still amuses me. From being one of the teams that all of us wanted to get drawn with in a World Cup, to a serious rival that could beat almost any team in the World. How did they manage to achieve such wonderful transformation? I bet you anything the creation of the MLS has something to do with it. All of a sudden the country has a strong competitive league where the local players can really develop, and it's expanding and getting better every year. I don't know how long it will take for the US to get one of those little stars just over the national team shield in the shirts that means that country has won a world cup, but I trully believe they will get one sooner than later (ok, lets say 12-18 years from now). Jurgen Klinsmann is regenerating the team  with new blood constantly (he brought Julian Green to the World Cup when he was 18 and he paid him back with a nice goal), and when you see the teams where the US players are actually playing, not all of them are in the MLS. The list could form a quite interesting group in any upcoming UEFA Champions League (Aston Villa, Hertha, Bolton Wanderers, Borussia MG, Eintrach Frankfurt or AZ, for example). I personally enjoy like a kid when Bradley distributes the ball, helped by Beckerman to reach either Clint Dempsey or Jozy Altidore. The States are a very serious team, and they should lead the way in Group A over the rest, with Panama and Honduras trying to get the second place and Haiti enjoying the experience. A nice fact that generally passes unnoticed is how Klinsmann has two other ex players helping him as assistants, both of them with World Cup appearances in their CV: Tab Ramos and Andreas Herzog. Ring a bell?

Jurgen Klinsmann, World Cup winner

2- Costa Rica: Drawn with Italy, England and Uruguay in the past World Cup, I was one of the first to say that they would go home after three games. Needless to say that them reaching the quarterfinals and getting kicked out only in the penalty shots by the Nederlands was a very refreshing surprise. Names like Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell or Jose Miguel Cubero are already having a nice career in Europe. But what impresses me most of Costa Rica is how they move, behave, act and compete as a team. No one is above the rest. They defeated Uruguay and Italy in the last World Cup because they simply though they could, and they played accordingly. A tie with England led the way for two other ties, against Greece and the Nederlands in the knockout stage. Costa Rica left the last World Cup undefeated, after facing three World champions (Ururuay, Italy and England) and two EuroCup winners (Greece and the Nederlands). In a much less competitive environment, they only problem that I foresee is if the players get too comfortable. They need to play against El Salvador or Canada as they played against England or Italy. If they do so, they could dream of being in the finals.

Bryan Ruiz playing for Fulham



3- Mexico: If they decide to play a 4-3-3 scheme, just read the three strikers they could line up in any game: Chicharito Hernandez, Carlos Vela and Giovanni Do Santos. Wow!. Just wow!. They have probably the most experienced squad at International level and that is something that gives them a good advantage against teams that generally don't see themselves in the Finals very often. They should lead their group and then see when Costa Rica or the States will cross paths with them.

Chicharito playing for Manchester



So if I have to predict what is going to come down to, this would be my bet:

Group A

United States will lead the way with Honduras being second. Panama will be third.

Group B

Costa Rica will clinch the first position, Jamaica being second and Canada being third.

Group C

Mexico will cruise to the first position, with Trinidad & Tobago second and Guatemala third. Guatemala will be the worst third seeded team, so Canada and Panama will clinch a spot in the Quarterfinals, that would look like this:

United States - Canada
Costa Rica - Honduras
Mexico - Panama
Trinidad & Tobago - Jamaica

The semis would be United States - Costa Rica and Mexico - Jamaica, with the States and Mexico advancing to the final.

Players to keep an eye on:

- Deandre Yedlin (United States): Young, but talented. If he has minutes, he can perform.
- Aron Johansson (United States): With Dempsey getting old and Altidore not quite performing as expected, the States need a young striker that could capitalize some chances. The AZ striker could be that man.
- Andy Najar (Honduras) The Anderletch midfielder bring some talent to the pitch each time he plays.
- Joel Campbell (Costa Rica). He is supposed to have a huge potential. Did not really crack open just yet. Right now for a lot of experts he is in that moment of his career where he could finally explode to be a star, or just fall apart and be forgotten.
- Michael Seaton (Jamaica). The Orebro striker is only 19 years old but he has already 12 caps and 2 goals with the Reagge Boyz. Interesting prospect.

Now sit back and enjoy the football!!!