Canada and Honduras are scheduled to meet on 18 June at 3:30 am in the opening match of their CONCACAF Gold Cup group, with both teams hoping for a good result.
The Canadian national team enters the tournament with high hopes, as one of the main favourites to lift the trophy. They are also the co-host of the tournament, along with the United States, as the two nations prepare to host the upcoming 2026 World Cup.
Canada undoubtedly have the quality to go all the way, but this is quite similar to their situation ahead of the 2023 Gold Cup when they were also one of the favourites and a co-host of the tournament. That time they were eliminated in the quarter-finals against the United States, which was quite a disappointing result for them.
Meanwhile, Honduras had to go through the qualifiers to even be at this stage, which is a bit surprising since they are a solid team, at least when it comes to CONCACAF. However, they didn't have the best results in recent years, which we also saw in the 2023 Gold Cup when they were eliminated in the group stages.
That being said, Honduras enter the 2025 Gold Cup on a streak of four wins and they'll hope to keep that form going at the tournament so they can get out of the group this time around.
How the bookies view it: Canada backed to win with ease
At 4/11 odds on Canada to win at Boylesports, the hosts are clearly the expected winners by a wide margin. Honduras only have a minimal chance to win this match according to the bookies at 11/2 odds, while a draw comes with 10/3 odds at Boylesports.
Recent head-to-head: Canada with a small advantage
We saw a couple of wins for Canada over Honduras in their last five meetings, but also a couple of draws and one win for Honduras.
So, this matchup is closer than some might expect and if we go further, we can see that Honduras actually have the advantage in their overall H2H record against Canada: 12-6-9.
Players to watch: Canada's attackers in focus
With forwards like Jonathan David and Cyle Larin leading their attack, Canada have a lot of offensive firepower and we would expect this duo to be at the centre of attention against Honduras.
For David to score at any time, bet365 offers 6/5 odds, while the odds on Larin to score anytime are a bit higher at 6/4. Both of these are enticing, but we would go with David since he's been in better form last season. He also already has three goals for the national team in four games in 2025, while Larin has yet to score this year for Canada.
Predicted line-ups
The hosts will be without one of their best players Alphonso Davies, who will miss the entire tournament, along with Sam Adekugbe.
Honduras also had a couple of late omissions with Rigoberto Rivas and Denil Maldonado slated to miss the 2025 Gold Cup due to injuries.
Canada: Crepeau, Laryea, Waterman, Cornelius, Bassong, Buchanan, Kone, Eustaquio, Shaffelburg, David, Larin
Honduras: Menjivar, Najar, Montes, Martinez, Rosales, Flores, Palma, Arriaga, Lozano, Rodriguez, Quioto
Anything else catch the eye?
In the last four H2H meetings between Canada and Honduras, we saw an average of three goals per game, so we can expect to see goals in this match as well. With that in mind, over 2.5 total goals at 3/4 odds at Boylesports sounds tempting.
Also, Canada will want to start the tournament with an emphatic win, so backing them to win by two or more goals also sounds like a smart bet at 11/10 odds.
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