Qatar and Mexico are the first teams to book their tickets to the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals after impressive quarter-final wins.
Qatar continued their free-scoring ways with a 3-2 win over El Salvador, whose second-half comeback fell short. Meanwhile, Mexico showed everyone exactly why they are the tournament favourites with a convincing 3-0 victory over Honduras.
Here are SBOTOP’s top takeaways from the first two semi-final matches.
Free-scoring Qatar look like serious contenders
It might be time to consider Qatar as serious Gold Cup contenders. The guests from the Gulf Coast surprisingly coasted through the group stage undefeated (2 wins, 1 draw), while scoring a tournament-most nine goals in the process.
And to prove that wasn’t a fluke, they topped El Salvador 3-2 in the quarter-finals. The Qataris made an incredibly quick start, going up by two goals after just eight minutes and added a third 10 minutes after half-time through the penalty spot.
The Maroon let up a bit, though, and they allowed two quick goals to Joaquin Rivas as their deficit got cut to just one. But they successfully held on for the final 24 minutes to reach the semi-finals.
Qatar have now extended their impressive unbeaten run to 12 games (10 wins, 2 draws). Moreover, they have now scored 12 goals in their four Gold Cup games. Almoez Ali, who bagged a brace against El Salvador, now leads the competition with four goals, while Abdulaziz Hatem is not far behind with three.
Meanwhile, Qatar have conceded just eight goals over their 12-game unbeaten run, which shows they are quite a balanced side. Their backline is filled with experienced defenders, so despite their slight stumbles against Panama, where they conceded three goals, and El Salvador, they are quite solid in defence.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 betting odds will likely have Qatar as underdogs against either the United States or Jamaica in the semi-finals. But their clinical finishing in front of goal makes them a legitimate threat to cause a serious upset in the semis.
Mexico still the team to beat
But as good as Qatar have looked, reigning champions Mexico are still looking like the team to beat in this competition. El Tri steamrolled past Honduras 3-0 to seal their place in the semi-finals.
The Mexicans made very short work of their opponents as they scored all three goals in the first half. Rogelio Funes More opened the scoring in the 26th minute, while Jonathan dos Santos and Orbelin Pineda added two more to make sure of the victory.
Funes Mori has stepped up in a big way after star Hirving Lozano’s head injury. The 30-year-old has provided his fair share of CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 highlights with three goals, which leads the team. Prior to the Gold Cup, he had scored just one goal for his country.
But much more importantly, Tata Martino’s side has yet to concede a single goal through the first four games of the tournament, which is quite impressive.
The Mexicans have been very effective in controlling the midfield and limiting their opponents’ chances. They had 66 per cent of possession against Honduras and held them to just six total shots (two on target).
As the old adage goes, defence wins championships, and at the moment, Mexico have been the best defensive unit thus far in this competition.
That excellent defence will be put to the test by whoever emerges from the Canada-Costa Rica semi-final. Canada have scored eight goals thus far (tied for second in the tournament) while Costa Rica have scored six and went undefeated in the group stage.
But still, the fact that they have looked so secure at the back bodes well for their chances of successfully defending their championship.
Golden Boot race heating up
The Gold Cup Golden Boot race is heating up. Almoez Ali is currently in the lead after his quarter-final brace. Meanwhile, there’s a five-way tie behind him with three goals. That list includes team-mate Abdulaziz Hatem and Mexico’s Rogelio Funes Mori.
With Qatar possibly facing the United States in the semi-finals, their chances of scoring too many goals do not figure to be particularly high. Neither are their chances of advancing to the final.
On the other hand, Funes Mori’s Mexico figure to have a far easier road to the final, which would give him the opportunity to equal or even overtake Ali’s four goals.
But with just a couple of goals separating Ali from the rest, other contenders such as Canada’s Cyle Larin, Costa Rica’s Joel Campbell, and the US’s Daryl Dike take over the lead.
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