I'm sure its gonna be a USA/MEXICO final. There is no way concacaf will risk losing tv money because of Canada and Qatar.
2019 Gold Cup final: Mexico v. USA 2017: USA v. Jamaica 2015: Mexico v. Jamaica 2013: USA v. Panama 2011: Mexico v. USA 2009: Mexico v. USA 2007: Mexico v. USA 2005: USA v. Panama 2003: Mexico v. Brazil 2002: USA v. Costa Rica I guess CONCACAF messed up a majority of the time this century.
They did set it up in such a fashion for a USA-Mexico Final though. Sold Out crowd in a beautiful new stadium in Austin, Texas. What will probably be close to a sellout in Houston in front of 70K for Mexico against a team that does not travel well. But as newtex has shown upsets do occur.
If you had said one or the other, then I wouldn't have posted but you said "I'm sure its gonna be a USA/MEXICO final". That's not the same thing as "either Mexico or USA".
At least it wasn't there was no way for the two to face each other until the final as they have often done in the past. This year they could have met in the semis if either had finished 2nd in their group.
I don't think it's necessarily rigged, but if the US or Mexico need a late penalty, I wouldn't be surprised to see it given
I hope the US wins tonight, or else this tournament won't just be considered a disaster, it could go down as a qatarstrophy
Nice word pun here, but we have a team B; if our young guys lose to Qatar, it's not a disaster. If they win, it's an overachievement.
Yeah but I'm an American living in Qatar.. my students and friends will never live it down should they beat us... in don't care what happens afterwards, just don't lose this one...
LOL I hear you. It's not looking good, though. They are having bigger opportunities although we had a big one at 10 minutes. Our goalie had two huge saves in the last few minutes...
It's interesting how CONCACAF is only showing words in English or Spanish. They have this electronic board intermittently showing "Gold Cup" or "Copa Oro." But the CONCACAF area features many other languages... and the other semifinalist, Canada, has French as one of the two official languages... also a language spoken in Haiti, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana... So, where is the "Coupe d'Or"? Maybe this is a minor point but CONCACAF only acknowledging English and Spanish kind of betrays their hope for a Mexico vs. USA final.
A fair number of empty seats... I wonder if it's because people are afraid of the Delta variant. Anyway, it doesn't look good that in a smallish soccer-specific stadium featuring a semifinal involving the USMNT, it's not even sold out...
It is reportedly sold out. 6:30 on a Thursday is tough in Austin. It is filling in more and more as the game goes on. Probably won’t fill all the way up.
OK, so maybe some people bought the ticket but chickened out due to the latest surge in Delta variant infections... I, for one, wouldn't be going to a crowded place right now. A month ago I'd have loved to attend the game in person, but no more. So I wonder if this is a factor.
Wow, Qatar missed a penalty! This could be a momentum changer. We were actually improving and almost scored before conceding the penalty, and they missed! Over the crossbar!!! Go USA!!!
This is turning into a very entertaining game. Sure, neither team is great, but they seem to be relatively evenly matched (after the US improved in second half), making for an exciting game.
Qatar is slugging it out with USA ABC team... Is this really Asia's champion? Cuz that's not exactly good...
I thought Qatar looked the better team in the 1st half. They were obviously tired in the 2nd half - they haven't been rotating or using many subs this tournament (I was shocked how long they stuck with their big guns vs Grenada). I'm not sure how much you can really learn from/evaluate this game. Based on what I've seen of Qatar, I think they are capable of making the knockouts if they can avoid injuries- since they'll benefit from the favorable seeding as hosts.
And there is the chant.... Time for a stoppage and to kick fans out of Mexico matches. FIFA has let this go on FAAAAAR too long. Apparently some of the Mexico fans agree. Great to see.