Gold Cup 2023

The 2023 CONCACAF Gold cup gets underway this Friday with the defending champions the USA looking to add to their summer haul of trophies having already triumphed in the nations league with an impressive 2-0 win over Canada. However, with the recent conclusion of the major European leagues, and then the subsequent 4 team nations league finals taking place soon after, there have been some significant roster changes especially to the top 2 teams that should make this Gold cup even harder to predict.

The dynamic of soccer in the region has been shifting slightly of late, with several teams improving, coinciding with the recent relative dip of Mexico. Canada’s recent claim to the CONCACAF throne has been well documented, with them qualifying first in the region for last year’s World Cup. The USA continues to invest more in a sport that at best was 5^th in the hierarchy of sports in the country. Outside of the aforementioned current “big 3” of the region, a few Caribbean nations are looking to spice things up by benefitting from the European links in their past by calling up several players who were born in their respective ‘parent’ countries and now ply their trades in high level leagues across the continent.

Firstly, Jamaica has been steadily recruiting English born talent for years, somewhat taking back after losing a lot of their best talent to England in the past. However this recruitment has gone into overdrive recently, with several regulars in their squad having made the switch. Set to make his Reggae Boyz debut at the tournament, Everton star Demarai Gray is the latest and one of the biggest names to make the switch. Coupled with new coach Heimir Hallgrimson, who was a catalyst in transforming his native Iceland from minnows in the sport to Euro 2016 and World cup 2018 qualifiers, Jamaica is now firmly amongst the favourites for the title.

Haiti, Suriname and Curacao are the other nations who have undergone an extensive European recruitment drive, enlisting players from France (Haiti) and the Netherlands. However, in a shocking twist, after pushing the likes of Jamaica and the Trinbagonians for Caribbean footballing supremacy over the past few years, both Suriname and Curacao failed to qualify for the Gold cup finals, falling at the penultimate hurdle to upstarts Puerto Rico and St. Kitts (both on penalties) respectively. Haiti however, continue to be dark horses of sorts, having made the semi finals in 2019 after stunning Canada, coming back from a 2-0 deficit.

Panama and Costa Rica are the two nations that occupy the space between the current “big 3” and the upstart Caribbean nations in terms of level of performance in recent years. Costa Rica over the past decade have qualified for multiple World cups and even made the quarterfinals in 2014. However, this golden generation of players is on its last legs, with many of the players in their late 30s having retired or playing in their last tournament. In fact, celebrated CONCACAF legendary goalkeeper Keylor Navas is not part of their squad for the finals. Panama by contrast are on the up as many of their players are in their prime, and they were the 4^th team in addition to the “big 3” to qualify for the Nations League finals, having beaten Costa Rica home and away to do so.

Canada has left out arguably its top 5 players in addition to the retiring Atiba Hutchinson from the squad that made the Nations League finals to the one called up to the Gold cup, namely: Alphonso Davies, Cyle Larin, Jonathan Daivd, Ismael Kone and Tajon Buchanan. Their squad however is still full of experience, with several players from the Qatar World cup included. The United States, however, have retained only 5 players from their victorious Nations League squad. Despite this, due to the vast strength in depth of their talent pool, they are still favourites to retain their title despite fielding what is effectively a ‘B’ squad. Mexico on the other hand are in a bit of disarray having been beaten soundly by the Americans in the Nations League Semis, and barely getting out of their qualifying group ahead of Jamaica; failing to beat the Reggae Boyz in two attempts. As a result, they fired coach Diego Cocca who was only hired in February and thus head into the Gold cup surrounded by uncertainty. No doubt trying to regain some pride, they have called up what is essentially their best team with only a couple notable omissions.

This latest edition of the Gold cup promises to be one of the most open ones in recent memory, with a few surprises definitely on the cards, as the absence of some dark horses as well as the changing of the rosters of a few of the favourites promising a lot of excitement for the neutral.

Personally, I believe that a new look Jamaica and a wounded but determined Mexico will face off in the finals, with Jamaica (hopefully) securing their maiden Gold cup triumph, after heartbreaking losses in the 2015 and 2017 finals.