July 5 –Guatemala, once a regular name on Gold Cup final tournament fixture lists, are having to battle their way back to the top tier of confederation competition through the knock-out qualifying rounds for the Gold Cup group stages.
July 5 – The Haiti vs Bermuda play-off for a slot in the Gold Cup group stages is a return to hostilities between two nations that went head-to-head in 2019 with Haiti just coming out on top 2-1. It was the precursor of a run that took them to the semi-finals, leaving Bermuda rueing what might have been.
July 6 – Concacaf have broken new ground with their officiating teams and is introducing VAR – it debuted in the Preliminary Qualifying rounds last weekend – for the first time.
July 5 – Trinidad and Tobago will open the final round of preliminary qualifiers for the Gold Cup group stage in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow as favourites against a French Guiana that has not played a competitive fixture since 2019 due to the covid pandemic.
July 4 – In an open letter to fans and federations, Concacaf president Victor Montagliani has welcomed the important return of fans to stadiums for the Gold Cup and highlights the increased playing national team playing opportunities as the confederation celebrates their 60thanniversary.
Prelims Qualifer: Guatemala 4 – Guyana 0
July 4 – A pulsating night of crowd energy and fast paced football in Fort Lauderdale last night ignited the touch paper for the Gold Cup whose group stages start July 10.
July 4 – Cuba became the first covid and visa casualty of the return to competitive international football after the country failed to get to Fort Lauderdale in Florida for their 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Preliminary Round (Prelims) qualifier for a spot in the group stages that start July 10.
Prelim Qualifier: Guadeloupe 2 Bahamas 0
July 3 – Guadeloupe scored twice to overcome a Bahamian rearguard resistance to take them one step nearer to the Gold Cup group stages at the DRV PNK.
Grenada
How they qualified
The country booked their ticket for the finals as one of the four group winners in the 2019-2020 Concacaf Nations League League B. Grenada topped Group A on 14 points, going undefeated under previous coach Charlie Joseph against Saint Kitts and Nevis, French Guiana and Belize.
Tournament Record
This is Grenada’s third participation in the Gold Cup, having featured in both the 2009 and 2011 tournaments when they failed to get out of the group each time.
Martinique
How they qualified
They reached the Gold Cup as one of four runners-up in the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League A. Three draws, including a 1-1 result against Honduras, were enough to see off Trinidad and Tobago in Group C for a coveted second place and a ticket to the finals.
Tournament Record
Martinique first featured in the Gold Cup in 1993 when they managed a 2-2 draw with Canada.
Panama
How they qualified
The team booked a place for the main draw as one of four runners-up in the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League A. They qualified by the skin of their teeth in a group dominated by Mexico. Both Panama and Bermuda registered a single win, but the Panamanians prevailed because of a better goal difference.
Tournament Record
Panama were one of the nine teams to play in the inaugural edition of the tournament in 1963,
Qualification
Canada flew through qualification for the Gold Cup, finishing second in a tough Nations League group including their bitter neighbours USA. They began by running rings around Cuba in their opening game; a 6-0 thrashing lead by hat trick hero Junior Hoilett. This was followed by a less convincing 0-1 away win, inspired by Bayern Munich starlet Alphonso Davies.
The real talking point, however, lies in their back-to-back tussles with USA,
USA
How they qualified
Coming out of qualifying, USA look like the strongest team in the upcoming Concacaf Gold Cup, having finished top of their Nations League group and winning the Nations League final with an extra-time victory over arch-rivals Mexico. Over the course of the entire Nations League competition, they scored 19 goals and conceded 5; not bad for a team with an average age of 23.
Trinidad and Tobago 6 Monserrat 1
July 2 – Trinidad and Tobago’s players put the off-field soap opera of their federation’s disastrous administration behind them with an emphatic 6-1 win over Monserrat in the First Round of the 2021 Gold Cup Prelims on Friday night at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Jamaica
Qualification:
Jamaica qualified for the Gold Cup following a wildly successful CONCACAF Nations League debut, finishing unbeaten at the top of the group, scoring 21 goals and conceding only 1 over the span of 6 games. However, since they secured CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification in November 2019, Jamaica have suffered a series of notable defeats; losing 3-0 to Saudi Arabia, then 4-1 to Gold Cup rivals USA in what could be a telling game in predicting Jamaica’s effectiveness against the bigger sides.