The last spot in the semifinals in the Gold Cup will be up for grabs on Thursday night in Glendale. The duel between Canada and Jamaica will probably the toughest of the four matchups to handicap, and you can bet that whichever team advances will end up being the longest shot on the board to ultimately win the event amongst the four teams left standing.
Don't miss the Gold Cup action from University of Phoenix Stadium at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 20, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on FOX Sports 1.
Odds Analysis
For our money, both Canada and Jamaica overachieved just a bit in the group stage, and that's what is going to make this match even tougher to try to handicap. There isn't much of a history between these two since their last meeting came in the Gold Cup in 2015, a 1-0 victory for the Reggae Boyz. Plus, we know that this Canada outfit has a superstar in the making in Alphonso Davies who wasn't on the squad the last time these two met.
How They Got Here
Neither of these two teams has been beaten yet in the Gold Cup, a true testament to how far both are coming as soccer nations.
Canada already had one young stud in Cyle Larin. Now, they have another in the making in Davies. For the first time in a major competitive match, Davies and Larin will share the field together after the latter was called up for the knockout rounds of this tournament.
But Davies did the heavy lifting to get Canada here. He scored against both Costa Rica and French Guiana before being used as a sub in short duty against Honduras. He's accounted for two of the four goals for the Canucks along the way, and he's really the main reason why this team has five points to show for its work.
Jamaica has shown a lot of spirit here in the Gold Cup. This is a side that is likely overmatched against most of the top teams in the tournament. But just as it figured out how to get the job done two years ago when it got to the tournament's finale, it has been good here in 2017. Darren Mattocks has two of the team's three goals, including the penalty against El Salvador that rescued a point and assured Jamaica of second best in the group.
The crowning achievement in the group stage for Jamaica might have very well been a scoreless draw against Mexico. The Jamaicans stood toe-to-toe for the full 90 with Mexico, parking the bus at the back and ultimately holding on tight for a well-deserved point.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Jamaica is going to once again be stingy and try to milk this clock as much as it can while threatening on the counterattack. It's worked well in the past, but this Canada team feels like it might be in for something special in this tournament.
Every time we've watched 16-year old Davies run around on the attack, we've dreamed about what he and Larin could do as finishers on the same pitch together. Now, we're going to get our chance.
For as organized as Jamaica has been throughout this tourney, we're going to see a younger, fitter, and more exuberant Canada team get the job done against an older, slower and less athletic Jamaican team. Mattocks, Jermaine Taylor and Andre Blake can only do so much for this team, and we don't think they'll have enough on Thursday night in Phoenix.
Gold Cup Odds: Canada 3, Jamaica 1
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