2023 Gold Cup Group B Preview
(image via mexsport)
The 17th edition of the Concacaf Gold Cup continues tonight with Haiti vs Qatar and Mexico vs Honduras. Both games are being played at NRG Stadium in Houston. These four teams make up Group B for this tournament. Here is an in-depth look at each team.
Mexico
Mexico is looking to get back on track after failing to win any of their last three Concacaf tournaments. They have just lost in the semi-finals of the Nations League and fired their head coach Dieco Cocca. Jamie Lozano comes in to replace Cocca for this tournament following his season with Necaxa last year. Their roster mostly consists of players from Liga MX with a handful of European based players in the side. Those European based players are highlighted by Santiago Gimenez and Edson Alvarez who both play in the Netherlands. They will be the favorites to win this group and will be incredibly disappointed doing any worse than making the final.
Projected Lineup
Goalkeeper: Guillermo Ochoa
Right Back: Julian Araujo
Center Back: Cesar Montes
Center Back: Johan Vasquez
Left Back: Jesus Gallardo
Center Midfield: Edson Alvarez
Center Midfield: Luis Romo
Center Midfield: Luis Chavez
Winger: Uriel Antuna
Winger: Orbelin Pineda
Striker: Santiago Gimenez
Haiti
Haiti enters this tournament for the 17th time and look to make it past the group stage again after failing in 2021. 2019 saw Haiti top their group over Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Bermuda. Haiti have potentially the most diverse roster in this tournament with players coming from 14 different countries. Two of their wingers make up the biggest names on this roster with both being MLS regulars for years now. Those two players being Atlanta United’s Derrick Etienne and Nashville’s Fafa Picault. Houston fans will know Fafa Picault very well as he played two seasons with the Dynamo and a season in Dallas. Fafa scored 18 goals for the Dynamo and added a great defensive presence over these two seasons. Haiti will see themselves with a solid chance to make it out of this group with this being one of the more wide-open groups. Expect them to challenge Qatar and Honduras for that second-place spot.
Projected Lineup
Goalkeeper: Garissone Innocent
Right Back: Carlens Arcus
Center Back: Ricardo Ade
Center Back: Djimy Alexis
Left Back: Alex Junior Christian
Center Midfielder: Steeven Saba
Center Midfielder: Danley Jean Jacques
Winger: Derrick Etienne
Winger: Fafa Picault
Striker: Carnejy Antoine
Striker: Frantzdy Pierrot
Honduras
Honduras are a team that has seen loads of top end talent within the last decade but has yet to transform that into many meaningful results. Their best result in the last decade was qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, but it has been mostly poor results ever since. Their best achievement since was getting third place in the 2021 Nations League. As the Houston Dynamo used to sign loads of Honduran talent, there are some recognizable names on this roster. These names are former Designated Players Alberth Elis and Alexander Lopez. Lopez had very limited game time in his three seasons in Houston but has made a name for himself staring for Costa Rica side Alajuelense. Elis on the other hand was a star player for the Dynamo and by far the best player to play for the club in Matt Jordan’s era as the general manager. This team has loads of talent and will look to challenge Qatar and Haiti for that second qualifying spot. Without Anthony Lozano and Romell Quioto this will be a tough task and will not be surprising to see them finish bottom of this group.
Projected Lineup
Goalkeeper: Luis Lopez
Left Back: Franklin Flores
Center Back: Devron Garcia
Center Back: Marcelo Santos
Center Back: Wesley Decas
Right Back: Maylor Nunez
Center Midfield: Bryan Acosta
Center Midfield: Joseph Rosales
Forward: Alberth Elis
Forward: Alexander Lopez
Striker: Jerry Bengston
Qatar
Coming off hosting the World Cup, Qatar looks to recover from their embarrassment on home soil. This is the second time Qatar have been invited to the Gold Cup where they finished in the semi-finals last time out. Qatar’s head coach Carlos Queiroz is the most famous head coach in this tournament as he has coached for Real Madrid, Portugal, Egypt, Colombia, Manchester United as an assistant, and most recently Iran at this past World Cup. Their roster consists of a lot of the same names from the World Cup along with many newer faces. The roster consists entirely out of players playing in Qatar. Their biggest miss on the roster is attacker Akram Afif. They are likely favorites to finish second in this group but can be beaten out by Haiti or Honduras. They should have enough quality to make the knockouts but not go too far in them.
Projected Lineup
Goalkeeper: Meshaal Barsham
Right Back: Musab Kheder
Center Back: Bassam Al-Rawi
Center Back: Jassem Gabar
Center Back: Tarek Salman
Left Back: Homam Ahmed
Center Midfield: Assim Madibo
Center Midfield: Mohammed Waad
Center Midfield: Ali Assadalla
Striker: Almoez Ali
Striker: Mohammed Muntari
