The Confederation of African Football is moving its biennial Africa Cup of Nations from January to June-July, the CAF announced Thursday after meetings in Morocco.
Mexico defeated Honduras 1-0 to advance to the Gold Cup semifinals behind an early goal from Rodolfo Pizarro, and they’ll now play Jamaica in a rematch of the 2015 final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
The Boyz are alright.
For all the hype surrounding Canadian youngsters Alphonso Davies (16 years old) and Cyle Larin (22), it was the Reggae Boyz who impressed most Thursday evening in Phoenix. Jamaica edged Canada 2-1 in the Gold Cup quarterfinals to set up a date with Mexico or Honduras in the semifinals on Sunday.
Jamaica has a chance to reach its second straight Gold Cup final and in doing so knock off the team that beat them in the 2015 final, Mexico.
The United States are through to the Gold Cup semifinals, but the real story on Wednesday night was the erotic interplay between USMNT striker Jozy Altidore and his tight man-to-man marker, El Salvador’s Henry Romero.
The City of Brotherly Love was truly feeling the heat yesterday evening as Romero pinched and twisted Altidore’s nipple and took a nice little chomp on his shoulder for good measure. Romero was booked in the 81st minute, but he kept Altidore off the scoresheet for 90 minutes, so mission accomplished.
Despite a litany of mistakes from the back four and very hungry El Salvador defense, the USMNT is through to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. The 2-0 scoreline perhaps flattered the USA, but a win's a win.
Omar Gonzalez opened the scoring off a set piece, for his second goal of the tournament.
Anibal Godoy had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad two minutes. The Panamanian midfielder committed a foul to earn a yellow that would keep him out of the next match should his team advance, then seconds later made sure his team wouldn’t advance.
Costa Rica beat Panama 1-0 thanks to a Godoy own goal in the Gold Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday in Philadelphia. Los Ticos will play either the U.S. or El Salvador in the semifinals on Saturday.
Right this minute, El Salvador and the USMNT are gearing up to play in a crucial Gold Cup quarterfinal match. The U.S. are clear favorites for this game, ranked the 35th best team in the world while El Salvador is 101st. In the 21 times the two have met, El Salvador have never beaten the U.S, losing 17 and drawing four.
With the Gold Cup group stage and AC Milan providing us with the only mid-July fodder of note, the Star Sixes tournament in London couldn’t have picked a better moment to satisfy the footballing public’s desire for some semi-actual football.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal match-ups are set. Only eight teams remain. Let's check them out:
July 19: Costa Rica vs. Panama
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
TV: FOX Sports 1, Univision
Match-up: Costa Rica finished first in Group A, and Panama finished second in Group B. Costa Rica thrives on an organized defense and the creativity of Benfica midfielder Bryan Ruiz on offense. Panama's top players include Porto forward Ismail Diaz and NYCFC midfielder Miguel Camargo.
Mexico managed to top Group C at the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-0 victory over Curacao and a 1-1 draw between Jamaica and El Salvador.
Mexico didn't have it easy, though. Jesus Corona was called into action early, and made a fine save to prevent Curacao from going ahead.