Copa Oro: Muerte Subita!

TDZ's continuing coverage of Gold Cup action continues this weekend as nations square off in playoff elimination games. Despite a couple hiccups for some teams, such as the U.S. losing to Panama and Honduras losing to Jamaica, the group stages were about as predictable as a Sarah Palin soundbite is at reducing your IQ.

Summarizing today's action:


Honduras edges Costa Rica via penalty kicks.

Each squad put one away in the second half for a full time score of 1-1, but Honduras did a better job of converting their penalties as two of Costa Rica's players hit the crossbar with their shots. Not to discount the work of Honduras' goalkeeper, Noel Valladares: he made a crucial save on a penalty shot with 15 minutes left in the game just to send it to PKs. His strategy involved arguing over the placement of the ball until he had spent so much time - and so much of the ref's patience - that he was given a yellow card.

Did the tactic contribute to the subsequent save? Couldn't hurt. We might have just discovered a freezing the kicker tactic in the "other" football. I expected this to be a close game as both are in that second tier of CONCACAF behind the U.S. and Mexico, but one side is a World Cup-quality side while the other isn't, and it showed at the end. Honduras now moves on to face the following winner...


Mexico upends Guatemala with two second half goals.

Losing 1-0 at the half, heavy favorite Mexico was in danger of a quarterfinal elimination at the hands of 3rd tier Guatemala. However, like most heavy favorites, El Tri made a run and executed with 2 second half goals, including the game-winner from the chihuahua, Javier Hernandez.

Guatemala captain and long-time MLS striker Carlos Ruiz quieted the Mexico-supporting crowd early on with a goal in the fifth minute, but Mexico applied pressure later on to make up for the early lapse. Given how close this game was, Mexico may be a lot weaker following the suspension of 5 of their players than I initially thought. If the U.S. doesn't choke as hard as I think they will, they've got a definite shot at the Cup after all.


Gold Cup action continues tomorrow with the U.S. facing off against The Reggae Boyz of Jamaica, and Panama taking on El Salvador. I expect Panama will dispatch El Salvador as they have performed well so far, while I'm less optimistic about the U.S. facing Jamaica. If you go by the tier system I've alluded to, the U.S. should win, but Jamaica is a fast and physical team and they have yet to even allow a goal this tournament. For a team that's struggling to score goals like the U.S., this could be a case of a very stoppable force colliding with an immovable object. Tune in at 3 pm for all the action! (Fox Soccer Channel and live streaming.)