Already played the first two games in this, both in Group A.
Canada beating Jamaica, while El Salvador, perhaps not as suprising as you may think, beat Costa Rica.
Group B starts tonight, while Group C begins tomorrow.
Group B
05/07 00:00 Honduras v Haiti 1.38 5.50 11.00
05/07 02:00 Grenada v USA 26.00 10.90 1.11
Group C
05/07 Panama v Guadeloupe 1.88 3.55 4.62
06/07 Nicaracgua v Mexico 27.73 9.42 1.12
Honduras come into the tournament with a weakened team, but should still have enough for Haiti, who are only at the tournament as Cuba pulled out. Cuba finished ahead of Haiti in the central American qualifying tournament, but felt they couldn't provide a competitive squad for the Gold Cup. God knows what that says about Haiti's squad.
USA are also bringing a depleted squad, without a lot of the players who came so close to winning the Confederations cup. They should still have enough to beat the majority of the teams here though, especially as the tournament is once again being held in the US.
Nicaragua should provide no real threat in the group, even to a Mexican side who have left a lot of their big name Mexican based players at home. The Mexicans have brought a squad full of younger players (including Giovanni Dos Santos and Carlos Vela), with a few more experienced European based players (Omar Bravo, Gerado Torrado).
Which brings me onto Panama v Guadeloupe, and the second bet I'm placing on this tournament following the bet I placed last night but didn't find time to post
.
Panama have a strong line-up and won the UNCAF Nations cup in February, beating Costa Rica and Honduras along the way, but they were severley weakened teams as clubs weren't forced to release their players from the tournament as it wasn't within the agreed International calender. They may still do alright though with their experienced squad.
Guadeloupe came third in the recent Caribbean championships, going down to a strong Jamaica side in the quarter finals. They've got a strong squad made up of mainly french-based professional players and should do well here. They proved in 2007 that they can mix it with the best of the CONCACAF teams, only going down 1-0 to a strong Mexican side in the semi-finals. They're not an officially recognised FIFA nation, so don't enter qualification for World Cups, which is perhaps why they're being underestimated here.
Guadeloupe to beat Panama @ 4.50 (Ladbrokes, Eurobet, Centrebet, BWin) - 3 points