The 2015 Gold Cup knockout stage kicked off this weekend, as eight teams all competed for spots in Wednesday's semifinals. While the results of Saturday's games panned out as expected, Sunday's action proved to be far from expected.
U.S. gives Cuba reality check with 6-0 win.
Despite injury issues and a -7 goal differential, Cuba improbably made it out of the group stage. While this was quite the accomplishment for the small island nation, their improbable run through the tournament came to an abrupt end at the hands of a United States team desperate to find their form. Even though the U.S. went undefeated during group play (2-0-1), their performance during the games was generally unconvincing, with their defense looking shaky at times. This time, the U.S. came out firing on all cylinders, as goals from Aron Johannson, Omar Gonzales, Gyasi Zardes, and a hat trick from Clint Dempsey booked the team's place in the semifinals in convincing fashion. While Cuba was easily the weakest opponent the U.S. will face in this tournament, the team will be hoping that they can keep the momentum going into the next game and also throughout the tournament.
Haiti's cinderella run ended by Jamaica in tight 1-0 game.
The other surprise team in this year's Gold Cup is Haiti, as the small island nation has turned heads throughout the tournament with their speed and their stellar counter-attacking play. Going up against an equally fast and athletic Jamaican squad proved to be challenging for the Haitians, as Jamaican striker Giles Barnes' eighth-minute strike proved to be the only goal of the game, which booked Jamaica's place in Wednesday's semifinals. Even though Haiti created many chances throughout the game, they couldn't manage to capitalize on any of those chances. Jamaica will be hoping to have the same type of defensive performance against a U.S. team that is, currently, full of confidence.
Panama and Trinidad and Tobago ends in wild penalty shootout.
As 2013 Gold Cup runner ups, Panama booked their place in the semifinals with an intense, but sloppy, shootout win against Trinidad and Tobago. With the score locked at 1-1 and with no goals scored in extra time, the match went into a penalty shootout that lasted over 10 minutes. In the ninth round of the shootout, up 6-5, Panama's goalkeeper Jaime Penedo made the game winning save that ended the drama and sent his country into the semifinals.
Mexico edges out Costa Rica in controversial fashion.
Two of the regions most talented teams went head to head Sunday night, as Costa Rica and Mexico both battled extremely hard to earn the chance to face Panama on Wednesday. Despite how wide open the game was, both teams were scoreless through 90 minutes of soccer. There were chances for both teams to take the lead in extra time, and with a penalty shootout just seconds away, the referee made his impact on the game. The assistant referee on the far side called a penalty kick on Costa Rica for an apparent push in the penalty box, but the replay showed no push at all. The call was a gift for the Mexican team, but Andres Guardado made no mistake with the penalty kick, as he buried it into the side netting and sent his side into the semifinals to face Panama.
