CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal Sunday preview

by Erin Rice

They've already had a chance to check out the playing surface. They've already looked up at the massive expanse of stadium seats. And they've kicked around beneath that colossal set of screens dangling above. But on Sunday, the national soccer teams from Mexico, Costa Rica, Haiti, and Guadeloupe will be the first athletes of any sport to compete in the new $1.1 billion Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.

Though the real action begins with tailgating in the parking lot at god-only-knows what time, the doubleheader commences at 3 p.m. with Guadeloupe vs. Costa Rica followed by Mexico vs. Haiti at 6 p.m.

Mexico

It was no mistake that Mexico would play in Dallas, as the their placement in Group C in the first round almost assured them one of these two games (as opposed to playing in yesterday's Philadelphia quarterfinal). El Tri, as the team is called, fairly handily made its way into the quarterfinal, beating Guadeloupe and Nicaragua 2-0 each, while tying Panama 1-1. Despite grabbing first in the bracket, speculation is still on the team for not being consistent in their efforts in this tournament and World Cup qualifying matches. Despite this, El Tri remains heavily favored over Haiti.

Striker Carlos Vela was absent from Mexico's Thursday morning training, leaving some to wonder if the goal-scorer was still suffering from an ankle sprain sustained against Nicaragua on July 5th.

While Mexican head coach Javier Aguirre will not be sitting on the sidelines with his team -- he is serving a three-game suspension for an altercation with Panama's Ricardo Phillips -- he did get to train his boys last week on the stadium pitch. It was a celebrity moment when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stopped by to wish the team well and express gratitude for all the Cowboys' fans in Mexico. While there, the NFL magnate also admitted that all his grandchildren play soccer and his sons coach it.

Costa Rica

Perhaps one of the bigger upsets of the tournament so far is how Costa Rica has performed. The team sits atop the region's standings in World Cup qualifying with 12 points, two more than second place USA. But with all that momentum, they entered the Gold Cup soft, losing their tournament opener to El Salvador, 2-1, and barely getting by Jamaica, 1-0. Needing a win to overcome Canada in Group A, they tied the Canucks, 2-2, and plopped into the runner-up slot.

This will be Costa Rica's seventh Gold Cup quarterfinal berth, and they're hoping a positive result will give them their third semifinal appearance. But as coach Rodrigo Kenton admits, his squad doesn't know much about Guadeloupe, and frankly, who does? The two met in the 2007 Gold Cup, with Costa Rica coming out on top, 1-0. As Costa Rica's results have shown thus far in the tourney, however, that previous win doesn't mean much today.

Haiti

One of the poorest soccer nations in the world will play underneath the largest, most extravagant high-definition television screen in the world on Sunday. During a training session, Jerry Jones once again visited the field and dared the Haitian players to try to hit the screen, hanging 50 feet above, which they succeeded a handful of times in several attempts.

Haiti wasn't even supposed to be in the Gold Cup, but replaced Cuba when it qualified then withdrew. And they've done their best to make the most of the opportunity. While Haiti opened the tournament with a 1-0 loss to Honduras, currently third in the region in World Cup qualifying, they later beat Grenada, 2-0, and drew even, 2-2, with the U.S. to pick up one of the wild-card slots. Though Mexico is favored to dominate, Goal.com points out that Haiti is a very physical team, much like Panama, who delivered Mexico that headache tie in the first round.

Guadeloupe

And then there was Guadeloupe. What do we know about Guadeloupe? Well, it's a French territory in the Caribbean. It's not allowed to participate in World Cup qualifying. Umm, yeah. What else?

Really, though not one of the first nations one envisions when they think of the CONCACAF, Guadeloupe has proven itself to be quite a competitor. In 2007 the team reached the Gold Cup semifinals before losing to Mexico, 1-0. In this tourney they beat Panama, 2-1, and Nicaragua, 2-0, but lost to Mexico, 2-0, to take the Group C runner-up slot. Given Costa Rica's shaky run so far this month, we could very well see a repeat of 2007 with Guadeloupe vs. Mexico in the semis.

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The first set of quarterfinal matches took place on Saturday in Philadelphia as Honduras defeated Canada and the U.S. overcame Panama. Game-winning goals in both matches were off penalty kicks.