After much anticipation, the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup finally gets underway Tuesday night with the opening matches from Group A. Toyota Stadium in Frisco, TX, home of MLS club FC Dallas, hosts a doubleheader of contests that begins with Panama taking on Haiti (7 PM ET) followed by the United States facing Honduras (9:30 PM ET).
Though the USMNT is expected to come out on top of Group A, two sides could give the favorites fits at times.
2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup: Can Honduras and Panama Make Some Noise?
Both Honduras and Panama are programs on the rise within the CONCACAF region. The Hondurans have qualified for the last two World Cups, finishing third in the final round of regional qualifying to get through automatically on both occasions. Panama nearly made the intercontinental playoff in 2014 which would’ve given them a chance to qualify for their first ever World Cup. However, they lost 3-2 to the US in the final match of qualifying after giving up two goals in stoppage time which enabled Mexico to finish fourth and hold onto that playoff spot.
The two Central American sides are bringing a great deal of experience to the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup this year. Panama averages 38.7 caps per player which is most among the 12 teams competing while Honduras’ 32 caps per player is third-highest. In fact, the Hondurans bring a combined measure of being battle-tested at international level while maintaining a certain infusion of youth in the squad. Their average age of exactly 26 years old makes them the fourth-youngest team in the tournament.
You won’t see that perceived youngness in between the posts for Honduras though. Both Noel Valladares and Donis Escober are in the twilight of their careers. Despite being 35, Escober hasn’t seen a great deal of action at national team level, mostly because of Valladares’ continued presence in the team since his debut in 2000. His 129 caps for Honduras is bested only by Amado Guevara and at age 38, the winner of the best goalkeeper award at the 2011 tournament is the oldest player on any Gold Cup roster.
The two mainstays at famed Honduran club Olimpia have seen time in the friendlies leading up to the tournament. If Escober ends up getting the nod it may be perhaps his one and only shot to shine for Los Catrachos. Whoever starts will need to be at their best considering the attacking firepower they’re going to see from both Panama and the United States.
There is no doubt as to who will start in the Panamanian net during this tournament. Jaime Penedo has made over 100 appearances for Los Canaleros while also starring for Los Angles Galaxy for the past three seasons, helping the club win its fifth MLS Cup in 2014. The 33-year-old is pretty well established over Luís Mejía and José Calderón who only have 22 caps between them.
On field opposite the teams’ goalies, Panama likely has the edge over Honduras in terms of established goal-scorers. They boast a talented trio of forwards, two of whom MLS fans should be well and truly familiar with. In his four seasons with FC Dallas, Blas Pérez has found the net 36 times while adding 14 assists. His fellow countryman in the attack Gabriel Torres was the first designated player in Colorado Rapids history. Even Luís Tejada, who has 82 caps for Panama, had a brief stint with Real Salt Lake way back in 2007.
Two Hondurans ply their trade in MLS, both of whom play for the Houston Dynamo. Right midfielder Oscar Boniek Garcia is in his fourth season with the club and also has 105 caps for Honduras. Luis Garrido, who plays more as a withdrawn central midfielder, was a surprise omission from the Gold Cup roster but was added on Monday after it was announced defender Ever Alvarado would miss the tournament due to injury.
Honduras only have four forwards on their 23-man Gold Cup roster compared to Panama’s six and all are fairly recent contributors to the senior national team. Anthony Lozano, another Olimpia product, has the most caps at 15 but as a whole they only have 29 between them.
Lozano does appear to be a potential star in the making though. Only 22, he’s already appeared 62 times for his club and scored 27 goals. He found the net 11 times for the U-17s while helping Honduras qualify for the 2009 World Cup at that level and has five tallies in his brief stint at the highest level of international competition for Honduras.
The two coaches are recent hires for both teams even though Honduras’ probably made the bigger splash. In December it was announced that Jorge Luis Pinto, who led Costa Rica to a magical run to the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup, would be taking over managing duties. For Panama, Hernán Dario Gómez was named manager in February 2015 after spending the last two seasons with Medellín in the Colombian domestic league.
If we assume that the US finish first in Group A (just saying, that’s what is expected), the route to a semi-final berth for either of these teams gets fairly challenging. The group runner-up faces the winner from Group B, likely Costa Rica. Considering Pinto’s previous job, a match-up between Los Catrachos and Los Ticos would certainly ratchet up the intrigue level.
Whoever finishes third will need to have more points (or win a tiebreaker) than at least one other third-placed team from the other two groups. A game against the Group C winners would await with Mexico being the consensus pick to emerge despite the Chicharito injury.
I’m firmly of the opinion that Honduras and Panama are next best teams in the region behind what could be termed the Big Three: the Yanks, El Tri and Los Ticos. In this tournament, I’m giving a slight edge to the Panamanians. This is an experienced, motivated bunch two years removed from an appearance in the Gold Cup Final. I think they continue the momentum towards their goal of qualifying for their first-ever World Cup in 2018.
