ARLINGTON, Texas. - Costa Rica and Canada both have their sights set on making a return to the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals when they meet to decide one of the four spots on Sunday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The two sides will lock up for their ninth overall Gold Cup meeting, but only their first encounter in the knockout stage. Canada has the edge in the tournament series with two wins to one and five draws.
The previous three meetings have ended in stalemates. Their last meeting, also on Texas soil, was a 1-1 draw in Group A with Francisco Calvo and Alphonso Davies scoring in Houston.
Costa Rica leads the all-time series against Canada with nine wins to four and nine draws.
Celso Borges could reach 25 Gold Cup appearances if he plays in the quarterfinal. He is the player with the most appearances in the tournament for Costa Rica (24, 5 goals) and has two goals in 229 minutes played in the 2021 edition.
Bryan Ruiz, will be another threat to the Canadians, as one of Costa Rica’s top players and the man responsible for the game-winner against Jamaica to secure first place in Group C. He has played four times against Canada at the Gold Cup and has yet to lose, forming part of a 1-0 victory in 2005.
Joel Campbell holds the most shots, six, for the Central Americans in the current edition. He is responsible for three goals for Costa Rica, two scored and one assist.
For Canada, they are missing some key attacking pieces due to injury, so the likes of Tajon Buchanan will have to step up. The 22-year-old FW scored two goals for his country in the 2020 Concacaf Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, but is still looking for his first Gold Cup goal.
Junior Hoilett has four goals in 10 all-time tournament appearances and was present during the last Gold Cup meeting between the two nations, the aforementioned 1-1 result in the 2017 group stage.
Lucas Cavallini was also part of that 2017 meeting. The Canadian striker has five goals in 11 Gold Cup matches spanning over the past three editions.
With so much at stake, there will be little margin for error when these sides kick off.
