The 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup is kicking off this weekend. This is a month-long international tournament where 16 nations battle it out to win the giant Gold Cup trophy and gain supremacy over the other nations in the region! We’ll be following along with all the action, but first, let’s take a look at the groups and nations competing continuing with Group B!
Group B of the 2023 Gold Cup
Group B of this Gold Cup sees Mexico, Honduras, Haiti, and Qatar battling it out for Concacaf glory! Mexico are the fallen giant right now in the region, they will look to right their ship in this tournament. Honduras is another giant of the region, but this one has been asleep for a while; can they wake up? Haiti is the little engine that could just show up some of the bigger nations in Concacaf at this tournament. Then there’s Qatar, who are again in this tournament even after their horrid failure hosting the Winter World Cup.
Who from this group can make it out and play for the chance to hoist the giant Gold Cup trophy? Will we see the massive nations make it out, will a plucky underdog, or will the guest?
Mexico
Mexico, Mexico, Mexico. What is going on with El Tri? They have continued to decline over the last three years, and have gone through manager after manager, their most recent one just getting the axe. This Gold Cup is a huge opportunity for the once-greatest team in the region to show that they can get back to the mountaintop.
However, it will take a huge effort to do so. Mexico has looked sluggish on the pitch. Their passion has been lacking, instead, hotheadedness rules the day for them. Even with these problems, this is still the best team in the group. If they want to have confidence heading into the knockout rounds, they’ll need to win Group B.
Matches:
- vs Honduras | June 25 | 8 pm ET
- vs Haiti | June 29 | 10 pm ET
- vs Qatar | July 2 | 9 pm ET
Honduras
A once great and mighty Concacaf nation, Honduras, has fallen off in the last few years. This Nation used to bully other Concacaf nations in matches, this led to mistakes and lethal counter-attacks. Fast-forward to now and their old regime has come and gone, but the basis for this sleeping giant is still there. Can they show the region who they used to be?
Honduras’ track record sees them as a favorite to get out of the group. They will work hard to make the game difficult for their opponents. Honduras’ effort will play out nicely as long as they can avoid leaving themselves exposed. If there’s space for an opponent to hit them on the counter, then it could mean disaster for this team.
Matches:
- vs Mexico | June 25 | 8 pm ET
- vs Qatar | June 29 | 7:45 pm ET
- vs Qatar | July 2 | 9 pm ET
Haiti
Haiti is the underdog in Group B, but they are not the lowest on the totem pole. They may be the least likely Concacaf nation to make it out of the Group, but this team will be united. This small nation is a collective, believing in one another, and that might just be enough to get them to build chemistry on the pitch. If the Haitians can get some good build-up play going, and feed into fast attackers, like Fafa Picault, then anything is possible.
They will need to count on games being blown wide open when they play better opposition. If they can frustrate the likes of Mexico or Honduras, then we could just see this small island nation advancing into the knockout rounds of this wonderful tournament!
Matches:
- vs Qatar | June 25 | 6 pm ET
- vs Mexico | June 29 | 10 pm ET
- vs Honduras | July 2 | 9 pm ET
Qatar
The one guest nation at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup is Qatar. They are once again invited to this competition, and they hope to make a deep tournament run like they did last time. In 2021 Qatar made the semifinals of the Gold Cup falling to the United States. Since then it has been nothing but turmoil for this nation. Qatar had a horrid World Cup, which they hosted, and was also the worst team in the tournament. Since then, they have had one win, a draw, and two losses.
The small Asian nation has not really shown they belong on the big stage. They are hoping that this opportunity is one that will allow them to show that they can actually compete with bigger nations and teams moving forward.
Matches:
- vs Haiti | June 25 | 6 pm ET
- vs Honduras | June 29 | 7:45 pm ET
- vs Mexico | July 2 | 9 pm ET
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