BY JAMES ROSS – FAN FUEL BLOGGER
The final two quarter finals in the CONCACAF Gold Cup take place on this coming Sunday, and the first of the two is between Honduras and Costa Rica.
I think this is going to be an excellent matchup, and probably the most difficult of the four quarter finals to predict.
Honduras came in as one of the pre-tournament favourites to challenge for the title. Canadians can still remember Honduras dismantling our National team to the tune of 8-1 in World Cup qualifying last year, and that match showed that Honduras are definitely one of the top sides in the region.
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They offered a strong performance in their opening win over a tough Haitian side, and continued that with a 1-0 victory via an injury time winner against a scrappy Salvadorian side in their second match. This offered Honduras the opportunity to rest almost their entire first team in their final group match against Trinidad and Tobago, and though they lost 2-0 (due in no small part to a stupid red card from defender Jose David Velasquez) it was result that didn’t really matter, and they will head into the quarter-final refreshed and ready for a greater challenge in the form of Costa Rica.
The team has looked solid in all areas of the pitch, and though it is hard to single out individuals, big central defender Osman Chavez is the centrepiece of a strong defensive core, and his ability to deal with the offensive threats Costa Rica possess should make that dynamic an interesting one to watch.
Costa Rica have been a bit inconsistent through the first three matches. The started strong with a 3-0 victory over Cuba, led by a brace from midfielder Michael Barrantes. They then turned in a rather poor performance against Belize, narrowly defeating the tiny nation 1-0, conceding far too many stupid fouls and looking a touch anemic in front of the goal.
However, they turned in a strong performance against the USA and were perhaps a bit unlucky to lose 1-0, though it has to be said they were very fortunate to still have goalkeeper Patrick Pemberton on the pitch, as I felt he should have been sent off for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity for handling the ball outside his area in a rather curious decision by that match referee.
Costa Rica are traditionally a strong side in CONCACAF, but I feel this team is a bit lacking, and I fully expect Honduras to advance to the semis.
I’ll take Honduras at 2-0 in this one.