The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup finished its third day of competition last night as Trinidad and Tobago defeated Guatemala fairly easily, 3-1, while Mexico put the hurt on a lowly Cuba team with a final score of 6-0. The tournament, which started on July 7 and will run through July 15, will have its next two games at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Friday, July 10 between Honduras and Panama at 6:00 p.m. ET, and USA against Haiti afterwards at8:30 p.m. ET.
The tournament began on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw between Panama and Haiti, and a 2-1 USA victory over Honduras. On the following day, Costa Rica and Jamaica played to an even 2-2 draw, while no goals were scored in the second game of the evening from El Salvador and Canada to yield another draw during the evening.
Gillette Stadium, home of the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, will play host to two Gold Cup games this evening. As mentioned earlier, Honduras and Panama square off before the United States looks to get off to a 2-0-0 start in their group against Haiti. Gold Cup tickets on the secondary market have an average price of $165 and a get-in price of $46, according to SeatSmart.com.
When the United States played their opening game of the tournament on July 7, the average price was $185.23 with a get-in price of $98 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. One ticket gets fans admission to the doubleheader, as tickets for each game do not have to be bought separately. Fans in the Boston area can find Boston parking starting from $33 through ParkWhiz.com.
In the first match, featuring Honduras and Panama, Honduras may be playing for their tournament lives. After losing to the USA, 2-1, Honduras would likely be eliminated instantly if they fall again. Panama had a draw in its first contest, but a win in tonight’s match would almost all but assure them moving onto the knockout stage.
The United States is looking to put a stranglehold on the group, which they were favored to win entering the proceedings. There were questions about how Clint Dempsey would react after his captaincy was removed (and given to Michael Bradley), but Dempsey scored two goals to lift the United States to victory. Brad Guzan stuffed multiple attacks from the Honduras side, a side that appeared to come out faster and hungrier in each of the two halves.
The defense wasn’t as tight as expected, but the USMNT will have to improve it on the fly. Fans of the USA shouldn’t have much to worry about in tonight’s game, however, as they are heavy -750 favorites to beat Haiti.