2023 Gold Cup Group B Primer, TV Schedule - Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Qatar

All four teams have made recent knockouts at a Gold Cup, but can one of these teams knockout a reeling giant?

Photo Courtesy of Mexican National Team

If Group A was likely the embodiment of favorites and underdogs, Group B could be anything but that at this edition of the 2023 Gold Cup.

Yes, Mexico are still the favorites to top the group, but confidence in their squad has been waning regionally and they are paired with a trio of teams that have all made the knockouts within the last four years, two of which have made the semifinals. Oddly it’s Honduras that has not registered a knockout win recently.

While El Tri are far from the dominant force they have been within the region, they are still formidable. The question is can Haiti who won a group four years ago, or Qatar who won a group two years ago, or Honduras who are overdue for a semifinal appearance rise above Mexico for group supremacy?

Remember that Group A play starts us off today with Trinidad and Tobago playing Saint Kitts and Nevis, you can check out our Group A Primer here.

TV SCHEDULE (all times US Eastern, games on FS1, Univision, TUDN)

June 25: Haiti vs Qatar – NRG Stadium, Houston, TX, 6 p.m.

June 25: Mexico vs Honduras – NRG Stadium, Houston, TX, 8 p.m.

June 29: Qatar vs Honduras – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ, 7:45 p.m

June 29: Haiti vs Mexico – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ, 10 p.m.

July 2: Honduras vs Haiti – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC, 9 p.m.

July 2: Mexico vs Qatar – Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA, 9 p.m.

HAITI [HAI/B2] 

Head Coach: Jean-Jacques Pierre 

FIFA Ranking: 87 Nickname: Les Grenadiers  

Qualification: CNL B Flight Group B Winners 

Appearance: 9th / Best Finish: Semifinals (2019)  

Roster Breakdown: 1 Domestic, 4 USA/CAN (MLS/USL/CPL), 5 France, 3 Israel, 1 Netherlands, 1 Ecuador, 1 Bulgaria, 1 Azerbaijan, 1 Poland, 1 Bolivia, 1 Cyprus, 1 Georgia, 1 Belgium  

Recent Matches: CNL W 4-0 at Montserrat, W 3-1 vs Bermuda 

Player To Know: FWD Derrick Etienne, Atlanta United (USA/MLS), 38 Int’l Caps / 7 Int’l Goals 

Player To Watch: FWD Duckens Nazon, CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria), 50 Int’l Caps / 26 Int’l Goals 

Etienne is a known quantity in MLS, but for those who have forgotten the goal scoring prowess of one Mr. Nazon, he scored a team high 20 goals this year (18 in the Bulgarian Parva Liga) for CSKA Sofia. This is a team that made two knockouts including a semifinal in 2019 before running up against a group with the USA and Canada last time around. These two can certainly provide enough firepower to get through to the quarters again after a solid B Flight Nations League campaign. 

Tournament Outlook 

Last time around Haiti ran into the buzzsaw that was Canada and Matt Turner, but in 2019 this was a group winning semi-finalist that took Mexico to extra time. This could honestly be a wide open group with various levels of confidence about every team involved, and it honestly is not wrong to suggest Haiti as perhaps the most in-form team after demolishing their B Flight Group in the Nations League. Jamaica has higher darkhorse odds overall but every possible result is on the table in this group and I would peg Haiti as our highest hope to be harbingers of chaos. Talisman keeper Johny Placide however is not in the squad, giving way to a trio of youngsters with a combined 7 caps including a former PSG (yes that one) youth player in Garissone Innocent. 

HONDURAS [HON/B3] 

Head Coach: Diego Vasquez (ARG) 

FIFA Ranking: 80 Nickname: Los Catrachos 

Qualification: CNL A Flight Group C runners-up 

Appearance: 16th / Best Finish: Runners-up 1991 (Champions of CONCACAF Championship in 1981) 

Roster Breakdown: 17 Domestic, 2 MLS, 1 Costa Rica, 1 Hungary, 1 France, 1 China 

Recent Matches: Friendly 1-0 L vs Venezuela (played in US), additional Friendly vs Barbados cancelled 

Player To Know: FWD Jerry Bengtson, Olimpia (HON), 65 Int’l Caps / 22 Int’l Goals 

Player To Watch: FWD Alberth Elis, Brest (FRA), 57 Int’l Caps / 12 Int’l Goals 

Montreal attacker Romell Quioto I think is missing out on the tourney due to a hamstring issue, which is a big blow for Honduras who were absolutely dreadful during WCQ and not exactly an offensive powerhouse finishing second in their Nations League group behind Canada. Former Dynamo man Elis will look to pick up the slack as well as the legend himself Jerry F Bengston. 

Tournament Outlook 

There is one reason and one reason only why I think this group is completely unpredictable, it’s because the Catrachos are capable of winning this group and coming in dead last. Quioto led them in scoring two years ago notching three goals in the group stage before a quarterfinal shutout exit against Mexico. This is a team desperate to turn things around and while they have a great opportunity to do so in this group if they were at full strength, but they could also implode or do anything in between. Of all the teams in Group B, I think Honduras would benefit the most from a good performance to get them back on track for the next CNL A Flight cycle. 

MEXICO [MEX/B1] 

Interim Head Coach: Jaime Lozano (MEX) 

FIFA Ranking: 15 Nickname: El Tri 

Qualification: CNL A Flight Group A Winners 

Appearance: 17th / Best Finish: Champions (8 times)  

Roster Breakdown: 14 Domestic, 2 Spain, 3 Netherlands, 2 Italy, 1 Belgium, 1 Greece 

Recent Matches:  

Player To Know: FWD Uriel Antuna, Cruz Azul (MEX), 45 Int’l Caps / 10 Int’l Goals 

Player To Watch: M/D Edson Alvarez, Ajax (NED), 62 Int’l Caps / 3 Int‘l Goals 

Alvarez is a world class player but the issue for Mexico of late has been scoring. Raul Jimenez isn’t in the squad, which means the highest active scorer is Antuna. Judging by the immense lack of offense in the Nations LeaguQte finals, it could still be an issue in this tournament as well. 

Tournament Outlook 

Unlike the USA, Mexico kept their Nations League squad together and I think those extra weeks of practice, games, and overall familiarity should be enough to carry Mexico through here. But the amount of confidence I have in that statement is not strong, and a poor tournament here should hopefully be enough to nudge the Mexico federation into a lot of changes organizationally and getting their players abroad more to stop their downhill skid within CONCACAF. 

QATAR [QAT/B4] 

Head Coach: Carlos Queiroz (POR) 

FIFA Ranking: 61 Nickname: The Maroons 

Qualification: Special Guest Invitee 

Appearance: 2nd / Best Finish: Semifinals (2021) 

Roster Breakdown: Full Domestic Roster 

Recent Matches: Friendly W vs Jamaica, Friendly Abandoned vs New Zealand (both games in Austria) 

Player To Know/Watch: FWD Almoez Ali, Al-Duhail (QAT), 88 Int’l Caps / 42 Int’l Goals 

The 2021 Gold Cup Golden Boot winner, the Sudan born Ali is a star and could once again put up big numbers on the regional stage has he has for Qatar in the past. 

Tournament Outlook 

Qatar fits in very well within the mid tiers of CONCACAF, they do quite well in friendlies against the Central American and Caribbean teams. I don’t think they’ll surprise anyone like they did two years ago, but they are still a solid squad for this level and if they can get a couple of results before the finale against Mexico, they could very well find themselves in the knockouts again.

GROUP OVERVIEW

I would love to see someone put Mexico onto the hard side of the bracket against the Group C winner (likely Costa Rica or Panama) and a potential US semifinal again, but what worries me is the lack of preparation matches from the rest of the group. Haiti hasn’t played in months, Honduras got one game in, and Qatar got a game and a half in a ocean away last week.

I want to see Haiti make another run, call me sentimental but that was fun a few years ago. If one of their trio of keepers steps up and they can maintain their goal form from the CNL B Flight they can absolutely find their way back to the semis.

PREDITCTIONS

Mexico / Haiti / Qatar / Honduras