2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup

It all starts tomorrow! Are you ready to watch some Gold Cup action?

Hello everyone! Tomorrow is the beginning of CONCACAF's World Cup Qualifying competition: the Women's Gold Cup. The tournament has quite a long history, as it has had 7 previous editions, with this being the 8th edition of the competition. The 2 finalists will automatically qualify for the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany, with the 3rd place team gaining the right to face-off against the 5th place team in Europe for the final play-off berth. Let's take a close look at the groups for the 2010 Gold Cup!



Group A:
Canada
Mexico
Guyana
Trinidad and Tobago


This is Group A. One would think that since A comes before B in the alphabet, it would be Group A who would open the tournament, however it is Group B who are opening the tournament. These teams will play their matches on October 29th, October 31st, and will finish up their group campaign on November 2nd. Their matches will be played in Estadio de Beisbol Beto Avila. Here are the matches and times:

October 29th
Canada vs. Trinidad and Tobago- 6pm Eastern Time

Mexico vs. Guyana- 8:30pm Eastern Time


October 31st (Happy Halloween!)
Canada vs. Guyana- 7pm Eastern Time

Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago- 9:30pm Eastern Time


November 2nd
Trinidad and Tobago vs. Guyana- 7pm Eastern Time

Canada vs. Mexico- 9:30pm Eastern Time

Remember everyone, concacaf.com is going to be streaming every game of the Women's Gold Cup from their website. So, register with them (it is free, and it takes no more than one minute) and you will be able to witness all of the Gold Cup action!


Now, let's take an individual look at every team in Group A:

Canada- Canada is on a mission. Canada has reached the final of the Women's Gold Cup 5 times, winning once and being runners-up 4 times. However, the one time Canada won, was when the United States was not present in the tournament. In the other 4 instances, Canada has had to face off against the USA in the final, and has lost. Canada is tired of constantly reaching the final, only to lose to their regional rivals--United States. Canada has played the role of 2nd best often, and they want to change it around this time. The Canadians will be using this rivalry to motivate them, as they've got a point to prove. The Canadians are definitely one of the favorites in the competition, and are favorites to win Group A. They are definitely a good candidate to reach the Final, but you can be sure that if they reach that point and meet against the United States, they are going to want the win. As for my personal prediction, I say Canada will be one of the finalists, and will be going all out to prove that they're more than just 2nd best.


Mexico- The host nation of the tournament who will be vying for a berth in the World Cup. These CONCACAF up-and-comers will be coming into the tournament with something to prove. They will be fighting for only their 2nd World Cup appearance. Mexico are expected to come out of Group A as well, and as hosts, they'll have the home fans behind them in their campaign to grab a spot in Germany 2011. Will Mexico finally prove themselves to be serious contenders? Its a definite possibility. Mexico are coming back from the 2010 Peace Queen Cup, where they finished their group with a win and a defeat. They sustained a tough loss to Australia, losing 3-1, but they posted a 1-0 win against Chinese Taipei. Mexico is definitely a rising force in the Women's game, and I think they will be making it out of Group A. They are definitely not to be taken lightly.


Trinidad and Tobago- I personally don't know much about this team, but in earlier stages to qualify for the Gold Cup (for teams who do not get an automatic bye), Trinidad and Tobago won their group with 9 points, posting wins against teams like Barbados, St. Lucia, and also fellow Group A contenders, Guyana. Since they won, they moved onto the tournament finals, which start tomorrow. Most people think they'll be trampled, but in soccer you can never take anyone lightly. This is World Cup qualifying and you have to bring everything. Every team here deserves to be here.


Guyana- Don't know much about this team either. They too battled through the group stage of qualifying, and had to play-off against Cuba to make it here. Another team that should not be taken lightly.




Group B:
United States
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Haiti


This is Group B, and they will be kicking off the Gold Cup tournament. They will be playing their games in the Estadio Quintana Roo, on October 28th, October 30th, and will finish up group play on November 1st. Here are the matches and times:


October 28th
Costa Rica vs. Guatemala- 6pm Eastern Time

United States vs. Haiti- 8:30pm Eastern Time


October 30th
Haiti vs. Costa Rica- 6pm Eastern Time

United States vs. Guatemala- 9:30pm Eastern Time


November 1st
Guatemala vs. Haiti- 7pm Eastern Time

United States vs. Costa Rica- 9:30pm Eastern Time


Remember, you can watch all of Group B's games on concacaf.com, who will be streaming every game live! Do not miss out on this! All you have to do is register which is free!


Now, like we did with Group A, let's talk about Group B's teams:

United States- The United States are the favorites to win the whole competition, but its no surprise that they are. The USA is undefeated in all of its Gold Cup campaigns, and has won every single Gold Cup they have participated in, which is 6 of the 8 tournaments held. The United States has an excellent record outside of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying as well, having only lost one match since the 2007 World Cup, which was a loss to Norway in the group stage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The United States are the definite favorites to win, but that title comes with its disadvantages. It puts a lot of pressure on them to perform flawlessly, and not only that, but it makes them a target for some of the other favorites. For example, teams such as Canada, who has a grudge against the USA in this competition especially, and Mexico, who are dying to prove that they can play with the big girls, will be wanting to taste the glory of taking down the favorites of the competition, proving their prowess as soccer nations. The United States has struggled a little in its past match against China PR, in which they tied 1-1. The players, who were coming off a long and demanding WPS season were not all on the same page, and have made it a point to smooth out some edges in their play. The United States is entering the Gold Cup with its own mission; to show everyone that although they can have their low performances, its nothing that can keep them down for long. The United States is eager to perform in the Gold Cup, ready to give it their all and show everyone that they're back on form once again. I think the United States is going to make it out of Group play for sure, and my prediction, although being made early, is that they will reach the Final.


Costa Rica- Costa Rica participated in the qualifying stages and won their group as well, beating teams such as Nicaragua and Honduras to reach this point. As with all teams in this competition, they should not be taken lightly simply because they are not a top world power. Many of the teams have been improving over the years, and the gaps in skill have been steadily narrowing.


Guatemala- reached the finals stage after winning their group in the earlier qualifying stages. They beat teams such as El Salvador and Belize. As I've said with all of the other teams, they cannot be taken lightly. A complacent team that doesn't take these teams seriously can be in for quite the rude awakening.


Haiti- Haiti over the years has continued to improve, and deserves to be here, as they won their group in the early stages of qualifying, defeating teams such as Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Antigua and Barbuda. The country is still recovering from the devastating earth quake that haunted the country last January, but the Haitian women are coming in to show nothing can keep them down.


Those are the groups of the competition. Now let's take a look at the knockout stages:


November 5th- Semifinals
Winners of Group A vs. Runners-up of Group B- 7pm Eastern Time

Winners of Group B vs. Runners-up of Group A- 10pm Eastern Time


November 8th
3rd place game
Loser of Semifinal 1 vs. Loser of Semifinal 2- Time TBA


Final
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2- Time TBA





The 2 teams who win the Semifinals will face-off in the final, and since they will be the finalists of the tournament, both will clinch a berth in the Women's World Cup. The 2 teams who lose in the Semifinals will face-off in the 3rd place game. The winner of that match will face-off against the 5th place European (UEFA) team, which will be Italy, as they beat Switzerland with a 5-2 aggregate recently.


Well, that's all for now everyone! Remember, concacaf.com will be streaming every single game of the tournament live, so do not miss them! Really, it takes 2 minutes to sign up, and its all free. Here's the link that will lead you directly to the sign up: https://secure-concacaftv.premiumtv.co.uk/page/secure/loginOrRegister/0,,12907,00.html


By the way, if there are any errors with the schedule I posted, or if there are any updates or last minute changes, I will try to fix it as soon as possible. But for the most part, the schedule is pretty accurate.


I hope you join me in experiencing the excitement of the Women's Gold Cup! Good luck to all of the teams participating.

I'll be seeing you all very soon, I can guarantee you that.

Until then,

Denise