Do or Die for Canada and Mexico in Gold Cup

With both Canada and Mexico losing their opening group games, both sides badly need a win when they meet on Thursday. Draws are possible in Soccer but Al Dannity says this will be a case of two teams enter, one team leaves.

Tonight’s two combatants each lost their opening games in the Gold Cup but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Mexico’s loss to Panama was a surprise but Panama has a serious shot at qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil. It wasn’t exactly the type of loss that would call for root and branch reform of El Tri. Canada? After a World Cup qualifying campaign that promised much before falling flat on its face, the Gold Cup offered some form of redemption. Unfortunately nobody told Martinique. A team which isn’t even in FIFA looked far stronger than the men in red in for 90 minutes before delivering the killer blow. When you have trouble pointing out the team that beat you on a map, it’s a lot more than worrying.

Unsurprisingly this makes Canada massive underdogs for tonight’s game at +740. If there is any upside it’s that nobody expect anything out of this game. That should be a mental weight the team won’t have to worry about. The flipside of that is that after that loss to Martinique, which is between St Lucia and Dominica and has four snakes on its flag, it’s hard to imagine the side will be all that motivated. These are professional players with bigger things to worry about than moral victories at a tournament in which they are clearly totally outclassed. That’s the kind of thinking which needs to change and the end of Colin Miller’s interim reign offers a chance to implement it. Between now and the end of the tournament, little will change.

Of course that’s not to say El Tri is free from problems. After a disappointing display at the Confederations Cup, a strong showing in this competition was vital for Manuel de la Torre. Two defeats in as many games in the Gold Cup would almost certainly signal the end of his tenure. Anything short of making the Semi-Finals would see his position in jeopardy. That’s the pressure that comes with managing one of the dark horses for a deep run in Brazil 2014. Tonight offers de la Torre the chance to win back some trust but don’t rule out Martinique pulling off another upset.