Guatemala vs Canada prediction: NORTH & CENTRAL AMERICA: Gold Cup betting tips on match 2023-07-01 01:30.
With their first opening round win in a CONCACAF Gold Cup since 1989, Guatemala raced into a surprise lead of Group D ahead of the second round of fixtures. The groupās highest-ranked nation in Canada now awaits in a first H2H meeting since 2015, as boss Luis Fernando Tena looks to build on a triumphant Gold Cup debut victory over Cuba (1-0) which he described as ājust enough, but fairā.
Fernando Tena revealed the players were āinspired byā and āfelt the supportā of a healthy cohort of Guatemalans in the stands, and as the team moves to Houston, a city which boasts one of their largest expatriate communities in the USA, the crowd could be even more favourable as they look for their first Gold Cup win as pre-match outsiders in ten starts (D3, L6).
That ironically began with a 3-0 loss to Canada in the 2007 quarter-finals – one of just two occasions in the last 20 years that the Canadians made the last four of the tournament. John Herdmanās side squandered their advantage as āco-hostsā of 2023 by failing to win the only match of the tournament on Canadian soil, drawing 2-2 with tiny island nation Guadeloupe who are 15 places below them in CONCACAFās national team rankings and not even recognised by FIFA!
Ominously, Canada were knocked out at the group stage the last time they co-hosted the Gold Cup (2015), though that was far less of a surprise as they were not a top-100 FIFA nation at the time (compared with #47 today). Another early exit is the last thing Canadian football needs just days after the national governing body admitted it is considering filing for protection from bankruptcy.
Players to watch: It was an international debut to remember for Guatemala winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, who shrugged off multiple defenders to set up the match-winning goal against Cuba. Heāll likely be aiming to outshine his former Cardiff City teammate Junior Hoilett, who assisted Lucas Cavalliniās second-half goal against Guadeloupe as he continues to pursue a repeat of his four direct goal contributions (G2, A2) from the 2021 Gold Cup.
Hot stat: All but one of the eight matches in June involving either nation produced fewer than 2.5 total goals.