USA-Mexico meet again in Gold Cup Final Saturday

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2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup – Final


MEXICO


UNITED STATES

Rose Bowl – Pasadena, CA
Kickoff: Saturday, 8:00 p.m. EDT
Line: Mexico +150, United States +180
Over/Under: 2.5 Goals (Over +110, Under -153)

For the third consecutive Gold Cup and fifth overall, the United States and Mexico will duke it out for the crown. Two years ago, the Mexicans dominated the pitch in a 5-0 blitz on an American squad that was ill-prepared to handle their attack. Overall, the fierce rivals have faced each other 58 times in international competition with the United States having won four of the last seven meetings, with one tie. Mexico has won the Gold Cup the most of any nation, five times, while the Americans have won one fewer. In the end, expect the experience of active Gold Cup goals leader Landon Donovan to help bring the title back to the UNITED STATES.

For Mexico, much of its offensive success rests within the feet of forward Javier Hernández who leads the tournament with seven goals thus far, including one in the semi-finals against Honduras. He has received ample help from Jesús De Nigris who also scored against Honduras, for his fourth goal of the tournament. Defensively they rely on the veteran leadership of Rafael Márquez who, at 32, is still one of the top defenders in the game. The defense, along with goalie Alfredo Talavera, has only allowed two goals all tournament.

America started the tournament off slowly but has since turned it around and played even better than their final scores indicate. Donovan, who has been used as a reserve, and Clint Dempsey, who leads the country with three goals for the Cup, will feel the brunt of the offensive pressure without fellow forward Jozy Altidore who injured his hamstring. On defense, the catalyst for the Americans should be Steve Cherundolo who brings consistency to an otherwise shaky crew. Between the goal posts for the Americans will be the always trustworthy Tim Howard who has been superb in only allowing one goal for the tournament.

Below are some other betting options from Sportsbook.com.

Team to Score First: Mexico -120, United State +105

Halftime Correct Score: 0-0 Tie +225, 1-0 USA +350, 1-0 Mexico +350, 1-1 Tie +600

90 Minutes Correct Score: 1-1 Tie +550, 0-0 Tie +700, 2-1 Mexico +850, 2-1 USA +900

Time of First Goal: 1-10 Mins +300, 11-20 Mins +375, 21-30 Mins +500, 31-40 Mins +600

Half With Most Goals: First Half +210, Second Half Even, The Tie (After 90 Mins) +275

Winning Margin: Draw (After 90 Mins) +300, Mexico by 1 +333, USA by 1 +375

Player to Score First: Hernandez +550, Giovani +550, Peralta +600, Donovan +650, Lugo +650, Cortes +700, Dempsey +800, Adu +850, No Goal Scorer (90 Mins) +700

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USA, Mexico Collide In Gold Cup Final

The 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Championship Final pits familiar foes against each other once again. Just like in 2009 and 2007, Mexico will face the United States for the championship.

Pasadena, California will host the action from the Rose Bowl on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. (PT) with coverage being broadcasted by FOX Soccer Channel.

As it currently stands on the Don Best odds screen, the U.S. is +180 with Mexico sitting as the +125 favorite.

Mexico has been dominant in the Gold Cup, winning every game leading up to the final match. They were 3-0 in group play with a staggering +13 in goal difference. The next best in that category was Jamaica at +7.

Javier Hernandez and Aldo De Nigris have been their top scorers. With his goal against Guatemala, Hernandez had personally scored more goals in the 2011 Gold Cup than the entire Guatemala team. He and De Nigris have each scored a goal in their last two matches.

Against El Salvador and Cuba in group play, Mexico scored 5-0 victories. In fact, including the quarterfinals and semifinals there have only been two goals scored against them.

The same can be said for the U.S. However, the key difference is how many goals they have scored to get to where they are. In group play, the United States scored the fewest goals along with Guatemala out of all the teams that advanced to the quarterfinals.

Clint Dempsey scored the lone goal in the U.S. victory over Panama that propelled them to the championship. He got it with a little help from some substitutes, though. Freddy Adu, who had not played for the U.S. in some time, got the ball to Landon Donovan who sent a nice pass to Dempsey which set him up for the score.

Donovan just recently started coming off the bench and it appears to have worked out so far.

In 2009, Mexico shellacked the United States 5-0 to win the Gold Cup. Four years ago, though, the U.S. defeated Mexico 2-1 to take the championship.

This is the fourth Gold Cup Final in a row for the U.S.

The ‘draw’ is +215 and has not moved since the opening line as well as the ‘total’ which is 2½u50.

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U.S., Mexico to face off in Gold Cup final

June 23, 2011


HOUSTON (AP) - The United States and Mexico both turned to their stars to advance to the Gold Cup final.

The Americans defeated Panama 1-0 and El Tri beat Honduras 2-0 in Wednesday's semifinals, setting up another championship final between the two power teams of the CONCACAF region.

Mexico and the U.S. have won nine of the 10 Gold Cups contested since the biennial tournament took its current form in 1991. The United States beat El Tri 2-1 in 2007, and Mexico won 5-0 in the 2009 final.

``We know what the U.S. represents,'' Mexican forward Aldo de Nigris said. ``We know it will be a tough rival, but we have to worry about ourselves, and, for me personally, it provides extra motivation because I've never played one of these finals.''

Before the Americans could think about Mexico, they had to redeem a stunning loss to Panama on June 11.

Clint Dempsey scored in the 77th minute off an assist from Landon Donovan, and the Americans earned a 1-0 victory on Wednesday. The United States has shut out its last three opponents since the 2-1 loss to Panama in the group stage.

``It was a really good team effort,'' American coach Bob Bradley said. ``It was a hard game, for sure. I thought the mentality of the group was looking for ways to win.''

Freddy Adu made a long-awaited return to American soccer in the second half, and set up the winning play with a long, slanting pass to Donovan, who played in his 27th consecutive Gold Cup match to extend his own record.

Donovan was benched at the start for the second straight game, and joined the action in the second half. He tracked down Adu's cross, then threaded a pinpoint pass through the Panama defense to Dempsey, who slid as he redirected the ball into the low corner of the net.

``It was a great ball from Freddy to open up Landon,'' Dempsey said. ``All I had to do was put my foot on it.''

Panama lost to the Americans in the knockout stage for the fourth straight time. Coach Julio Dely Valdes said his team surprised the Americans in their earlier match, and the U.S. team was more focused this time.

``It was a very intense game, very few chances for both teams,'' Dely Valdes said. ``I'm pleased with my team's performance, they fought until the very end.''

Adu played for the national team for the first time since 2009. Bradley said Adu struggled in early practices for the tournament, but has steadily regained his form.

``From the start of this camp, Freddy's made progress,'' Bradley said. ``The opportunity (Wednesday) was earned on his part. You could see him getting sharper, his confidence coming back. He was a nice part of the play that led to the goal. It's important for him, he earned this opportunity and I think everybody on this team feels good about that.''

The United States is unbeaten in 22 of its last 24 games in the Gold Cup, a tournament with 12 teams from Central and North American and the Caribbean. The Americans improved to 7-1-2 against Panama all-time.

Mexico is the only team to have beaten the U.S. in the knockout stage of the Gold Cup, with wins in 1993, '98 and 2009. And the Mexicans have looked more dominant so far in this tournament, outscoring their five opponents by an aggregate score of 18-2.

Mexico had trouble with Honduras in the semifinal, with neither team scoring through 90 minutes of regulation.

De Nigris and Javier ``El Chicharito'' Hernandez scored off corner kicks early in overtime to propel Mexico into its third straight Gold Cup final.

``This is what we expected,'' Mexican coach Jose Manuel de la Torre. ``Honduras is very orderly, very strong. Our team was not finding the spaces.''

Pablo Barrera assisted on both goals for Mexico on Wednesday.

De Nigris headed the first past Honduran goalkeeper Orlin Vallecillo in the third minute of the extra period, drawing roars from the heavily pro-Mexico crowd at Reliant Stadium.

The baby-faced ``Chicharito,'' already a huge star in Mexico, then triggered the loudest cheer of the night when he used his right hip to redirect Barrera's corner kick in the ninth minute of overtime.

Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, was packed with green-clad fans of El Tri, and roars went up every time a Mexican player dribbled into the open field.

The announced crowd was 70,627, the second-largest attendance figure for a soccer match in the stadium's history. Last summer's game between Manchester United and All-Stars from Major League Soccer drew 70,728.