HOUSTON, Texas – Group D takes the spotlight as the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup group stage continues on Saturday night with Cuba facing Guadeloupe, followed by Guatemala against Canada at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Guatemala will work to secure its ticket to the knockout phase, while the other three nations want to come away with its first three points of the tournament. Only Cuba can be eliminated from advancing, which could happen with a loss to Guadeloupe.
Cuba vs. Guadeloupe
Cuba and Guadeloupe will meet for their 10th all-time encounter, but first at the Gold Cup. Cuba leads the series with five wins to three, while there has been one draw, with 13 goals scored against 10.
Coming off its sixth consecutive defeat in the tournament, Cuba hopes to turn around its luck against its Caribbean counterpart. A victory would break Cuba’s win drought, and end a goal drought as well, to put the nation in position for a first quarterfinal appearance since 2015.
Guadeloupe impressed many by coming away with a 2-2 draw against Canada in Toronto. Thierry Ambrose scored in the team’s opening encounter and forced the game-tying own goal in stoppage time.
These two nations know each other well after recently playing in the 2022–23 Concacaf Nations League B. Guadeloupe won the first meeting with a deciding goal from Ambrose just over a year ago, but Cuba took the second encounter with a goal from Yasniel Matos.
Guatemala vs. Canada
Guatemala achieved a first Gold Cup group stage win since 2011 thanks to a 1-0 result against Cuba. Darwin Lom was the hero with the lone goal of the encounter.
Lucas Cavallini reached a new milestone with Canada. By scoring his sixth goal in the Gold Cup, Cavallini is tied for all-time goals in the tournament by a Canadian player with Dwayne De Rosario, Ali Gerba and Jonathan David.
Canada leads the all-time series in regulation time with 10 victories to two and two draws. This will be the second Gold Cup encounter between the two, with the only other meeting being a 3-0 Canada win in the 2007 quarterfinals.
