Canada will look to book their slot in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Sunday night as they take on Guatemala in Minneapolis.
Jesse Marsch’s men sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the Gold Cup by defeating El Salvador 2-0 in the early hours of Wednesday morning, thanks to two goals in three second-half minutes from Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan, in a game where our man, Vladimir, delivered a full house of winners.
That victory secured top spot for The Canucks, having previously thrashed runners-up Honduras 6-0 before suffering a surprise 1-1 draw with Curucao.
Guatemala began their Gold Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Jamaica, but were beaten in the next match by group winners Panama by the same scoreline.
That meant Luis Fernando Tena’s charges required all three points to confirm their place in the quarter-finals, and they just about managed to do so, defeating Guadeloupe 3-2 in Houston, where our man Vladimir delivered another couple of winners.
How the bookies view it: Canada clear favourites
As expected, Canada are clear favourites in this one, as BoyleSports have them at just 3/10 to win inside the 90 minutes.
A shock Guatemala victory in regulation time is 8/1 with the same firm, whilst it’s 15/4 for the match to go to extra time and potentially penalties.
Head to head: Canukes with the upper hand
Canada have won four of their last five meetings with Guatemala, but their most recent meeting finished in a goalless draw at the 2023 Gold Cup.
Players to watch: David to deliver?
Johnathan David is already Canada’s all-time leading scorer, slamming in 35 goals for The Canukes. The Lille man has already scored in victories over Honduras and El Salvador in the competition and is an appealing 23/20 at Unibet to score anytime inside the 90 minutes.
Oscar Santis bagged a hat-trick for Guatemala against the Dominican Republic in a World Cup qualifier at the beginning of the month, and got the winning goal in their group opener against Jamaica and is a massive 13/2 at William Hill to score in regulation time here.
Predicted line-ups:
Jesse Marsch will be without Ali Ahmed, Jonathan Osorio and Alphonso Davies through injury, whilst Stephen Eustaquio was with Porto at the Club World Cup.
Guatemala will be without their first-choice keeper here, with Nicholas Hagen out injured, meaning Kenderson Navarro will likely deputise.
Canada: St. Clair, Johnston, De Fougerolles, Cornelius, Laryea, Sigur, Choiniere, Buchanan, Shaffelburg, David, Oluwaseyi
Guatemala: Navarro, Herrera, Pinto, Samayoa, Morales, Franco, Ramirez, Santis, Robles, Munoz, Lom
Anything else catch the eye?
Canada are clear favourites here which is merited giving the squad at their disposal, but they won’t have it easy breaking down a Guatemala defence who will likely sit back for the majority of the game.
Jesse Marsch’s men have conceded a solitary goal across their opening three matches in the States, whilst Guatemala’s solitary defeat in the competition against Panama was by a single goal, meaning I’m leaning towards a low-scoring Canada victory.
A Canada Win & Under 3.5 Goals and a Canada Win to Nil are both priced up at 20/21 with BoyleSports, and both appeal to me here.
GambleAware