Like the United States against Qatar, El Tri are favorites to reach Sunday's final in Las Vegas. That also means all the pressure is on Tata Martino’s squad as John Herdman’s team looks to knock off another Concacaf juggernaut ahead of World Cup qualifying.
When
- Thursday, July 29 | 10:00 pm ET
Where
- NRG Stadium | Houston, Texas
How to watch and stream
- FS1, Univision, TUDN
What to know: Canada
Canada took another important step forward in their quest to move up the Concacaf ladder with an impressive 2-0 win over Costa Rica in the quarterfinals Sunday. Returning from yellow card accumulation, midfielder Stephen Eustaquio set up forward Junior Hoilett for the opening goal and scored the insurance tally in the second half as Les Rouges booked an appearance in the semifinals for the first time since 2007.
Herdman's recruitment of Eustaquio, who was in Portugal’s youth setup, is arguably his best addition to the program since taking over in January 2018.
Will history soon repeat itself? One of Canada’s biggest Gold Cup wins was a 2-1 upset over Mexico in extra time during the 2000 quarterfinals, en route to their lone title, with Richard Hastings scoring the decisive goal in the 92nd minute. Carlo Corazzin leveled in the 83rd minute after Ramon Ramirez gave Mexico the lead in the 35th minute.
What to know: Mexico
Mexico have won the Gold Cup a record eight times and have lost in the semifinals just three times, including a stunning 1-0 defeat to Jamaica courtesy of a late Kemar Lawrence goal in 2017.
After opening with a shock 0-0 draw against Trinidad & Tobago, Mexico have won three straight matches, including a comprehensive 3-0 quarterfinal win over Honduras in which Rogelio Funes Mori, Jonathan dos Santos and Orbelin Pineda scored during a 12-minute span before halftime. From there, Mexico cruised against their shorthanded Central American foe.
Mexico have history on their side against Canada, holding a 21W-3L-9D record against Les Rouges. Their most recent meeting was in the 2019 Gold Cup group stage, with El Tri winning 3-1. Andres Guardado struck for a second-half brace, scoring two minutes after Lucas Cavallini pulled Canada to within 2-1 in the 75th minute.
