MIAMI, Florida – The 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup promises to be an entertaining one as North American rivals United States and Canada will clash in Group B, along with a very strong Martinique team, plus the winner of Preliminary Match 7.
The U.S. and Canada exchanged wins in League A of the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League, including Canada’s first victory over the U.S. since 1985.
“[Canada] have talent and for them it’s about putting it together and competing as a team,” said U.S. Head Coach Gregg Berhalter in his post-Draw press conference. “And they’ve shown to be making progress on that. They were two challenging games when we played them. We’re looking forward to playing them in the Gold Cup because we know it’s going to be a competitive game.”
After a record-setting group stage in the 2019 Gold Cup, the sky is the limit for a Canada squad boasting some of the best young talent in the region, including 2019-20 UEFA Champions League winner Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich.
Canada Head Coach John Herdman says his team is eager to lock horns again with Berhalter’s men.
“That match means a lot to our players,” said Herman. “It’ll be the game that I’m sure all the players will want to play in. And you can’t hide that rivalry.”
Also in the mix is a Martinique team that has flexed their goal-scoring muscles against two of the region’s top teams, losing narrowly 3-2 to the U.S. in the 2017 Gold Cup and 3-2 to Mexico in 2019.
Les Matinino Head Coach Mario Bocaly feels his team has the quality to go toe-to-toe with every team in the group.
“It’s a tough draw for us because we have two very good teams in Canada and the United States. The U.S. will be at home and Canada is a very good team with young, strong players. But we have quality as well and we are going to prepare and be ready,” said Bocaly.