2017 Gold Cup preview: Jamaica By Matthew Gourlie For years Jamaican football had players with obvious individual skills, but a lack of team success. Then, in 1997, Brazilian manager Rene Simoes brought in seven English-born Jamaican players to the fold and the Reggae Boyz qualified for France 98, their first World Cup trip, and won…
By Matthew Gourlie Octavio Zambrano and the Canadian men’s national team have delivered in both the abstract and the concrete so far at the 2017 Gold Cup. After raising expectations they have a chance to meet and surpass them once again by winning their quarter-final match against Jamaica. The new-look Canadian side has delivered tangible…
2017 Gold Cup: Canada 0 Honduras 0 By Matthew Gourlie For the third straight Gold Cup, Canada ended the group stage with a goalless draw. This time it sends them through the quarter-finals instead of sending them home. Canada and Honduras battled to a 0-0 stalemate that left Canada second in Group A and Honduras…
2017 Gold Cup: Canada 1 Costa Rica 1 By Matthew Gourlie After a lot of high points and a few low ones in the opener, Canada put out a much more consistent effort to put themselves at the top of Group A Tuesday. Canada needed nine saves from keeper Milan Borjan to earn a 1-1…
2017 Gold Cup: Canada 4 French Guiana 2 By Matthew Gourlie Great careers are made of a series a great moments. There is no predicting what the future holds for Alphonso Davies’ career, but so far he providing moments that are only enhancing his reputation as a special talent. There was plenty of positives and…
2017 Gold Cup preview: Costa Rica By Matthew Gourlie Despite being amongst CONCACAF’s elite for two decades, Gold Cup success has eluded Costa Rica. The Ticos failed to advance past the quarter-finals in the previous three Gold Cup tournaments and in the last 11 editions have only reached the semifinals three times. Their lone final…
2017 Gold Cup preview: French Guiana By Matthew Gourlie French Guiana are not members of FIFA, but they seem to fit into CONCACAF just fine. The French overseas department entered their first Gold Cup as an unknown. On the eve of their first match they added an air of intrigue. The mystery surrounds Florent Malouda,…
2017 Gold Cup preview: Honduras By Matthew Gourlie Honduras failed to advance from their group at the Gold Cup two years ago. Their World Cup qualifying hopes are dimming. Now, the Catrachos are a mess as they enter the 2017 Gold Cup. Honduras are hardly alone when it comes to missing players heading into the…
2017 Gold Cup preview: Canada By Matthew Gourlie If there’s a bright side to inheriting a team that hasn’t scored a goal in two straight continental championships it is that the bar is set low. Octavio Zambrano brings a young squad armed with an attacking mind-set to the Gold Cup. The new head coach has…
By Matthew Gourlie Will Johnson doesn’t expect to play at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. When you press him on the subject, the 30-year-old admits it is possible and “fun to think about.” After breaking each of your legs less than two years apart, the long-term starts to feel a lot less certain. What…
June of 86 