Canada to ease themselves into the Gold Cup QFs
Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City will be the venue once more for a Group B game in CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021, and Canada will be hoping to book their passage to the knockout stages with a match to spare against hosts and second favourites United States. Haiti stand in their way, and whilst they restricted USMNT to a single goal victory in the opener, there is little reason to suggest they have what it takes against The Canucks. Read our preview here:
Duverger opinion
The last time these two nations met, it went viral because of a spectacular mistake by Les Grenadiers custodian Josué Duverger, who allowed a backpass into his own net when the scores were still level at 0-0. The Montréal born keeper will be determined to put that behind him, whilst also desperately hoping that at least some of the five players that missed the opening match because of positive COVID-19 tests are available for selection. Without them, it could be another heavy defeat against Canada.
King Cyle
A number of excellent prospects have started to come through the ranks over the past several years, and indeed, the roster as a whole is skewed towards individuals under 23. Tajon Buchanan has impressed on the right wing for New England Revolution, and confirmed his meteoric status with a sparkling performance in the last game with Martinique. Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies has a ligament injury, which has ruled him out of the tournament. Nevertheless, the likes of Cyle Larin, a striker who made a name for himself initially at Orlando City, and moreover, helped Turkish giants Beşiktaş immensely with their title win, scoring 23 across all competitions.
Untapped sap
Head coach John Herdman, who used to work in the academy at Sunderland, has successfully made the transitions from youth football to the women's game to the men's. He has at his disposal a squad that are capable of making a big splash at this year's Gold Cup, and have a great chance of qualifying for only their second ever FIFA World Cup in Qatar next year on merit in the last edition before they are joint hosts with the U.S. and Mexico. Against a weakened Haiti outfit more immediately, 888sport have odds of 3.20 for them to win both halves.
