It’s the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup and sports betting fans will be given an early treat this Thursday as USA, Costa Rica, Panama and El Salvador vie it out in high-stake football games in Philadelphia for a place in the semis.
For Group Champions and powerhouse teams like the USA and Costa Rica, however, this is where the real competition begins, and they can no longer afford to relax if they want to delight their live betting followers and seize that much-sought-after continental tournament glory.
Costa Rica vs Panama
Costa Rica and Panama each have two wins and a draw in the group stage, and they will both seek to remain undefeated as they look to become the first Central American nation to win the Gold Cup.
Panama have a deadly attack which will surely make things difficult for the Costa Rica defence. They also have Miguel Camargo who has been a bright light for them, scoring a goal in their opening draw and providing an assist in each of their two group wins.
The Ticos, of course, topped Group A for a reason, and they are undoubtedly capable of holding their ground considering that they only conceded once in their last three games.
Not to mention that they have shown a total team effort, with all of their five goals in the qualifying scored by different players.
However, it’s not an encouraging sign for them that they will be without regulars Johan Venegas, Joel Campbell, Cristian Gamboa and Bryan Oviedo who were all forced to withdraw due to injury.
Costa Rica remain the favourites here, but I think the Canaleros will give them a hard time. Hence, it’s not farfetched for Panama to upset the odds and win on Asian Handicap +0.25 @ 1.99.
USA vs El Salvador
The USA didn’t have a great start in the group rounds with an opening draw to Panama, but they steamrolled in the following games with three goals each to top Group B and set up a match with Group C third-placer, El Salvador.
Bruce Arena and his boys need every momentum they can get to avoid repeating the team’s abysmal fourth-place finish two years ago – then under Coach Jurgen Klinsmann – and a win over El Salvador would be a good start.
La Selecta don’t have much to boast after just scoring four goals and conceding four in Group C, though Nelson Bonilla and Fito Zelaya will give them some bite to at least challenge the Stars and Stripes.
It’s difficult to bet against the USA this time especially that they reloaded their roster, adding prominent players such as keepers Tim Howard and Jesse Gonzalez, forwards Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey, and midfielders Michael Bradley and Darlington Nagbe.
With that in mind, I expect the USA to continue their scoring run and overcome an Asian Handicap -1.75 that pays at 1.98.
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
