2019 Concacaf Gold Cup — Group Stage
Canada vs. Cuba
Bank of America Stadium — Charlotte
June 23 — 6:00 PM ET
TV: FS2, Univision, UDN, TSN 1/3
STREAMING: FOX Sports GO
After valiantly battling Mexico, but falling 3-1, on Wednesday in Denver, Canada look to bounce back and clinch a berth in the quarterfinals when they meet already-eliminated Cuba Sunday in Charlotte.
This is the third all-time Gold Cup meeting, with the teams splitting a pair of results. Cuba won 2-0 in 2003 and Canada claimed a 2-1 victory in 2005.
Canada
It was the first loss in the John Herdman era, but Canada proved they could be in the conversation among the region's elite following a 3-1 defeat to Mexico Wednesday night in Denver.
After conceding goals by Roberto Alvarado and Andres Guardado, Herdman made three attacking substitutions and got back into the game on a Lucas Cavallini goal in the 75th minute set up by substitute Jonathan David. But Guardado added his second two minutes later to close out the scoring. Herdman rotated six players after the 4-0 win over Martinique last Saturday.
“Accumulation of minutes is critical,” Herdman said. “We can’t be arriving at a quarter or semifinal with too many players on red minutes … I didn’t put my best team out there and that was an important step to make sure we have freshness for Cuba. I have a couple players there who are absolutely ready to go and get us through to the quarterfinal.”
Cuba
A tough week in the Gold Cup got even worse for Cuba, which was eliminated from qualifying for the quarterfinals with a 3-0 loss to Martinique Wednesday in Denver.
After losing to Mexico, 7-0, the Lions of the Caribbean lost their captain when central defender Yasmany Lopez reportedly defected from the team and then fell to Martinique and finished with 10 men when Erick Rizo was sent off for his second bookable offense. Goalkeeper Sandy Sanchez was solid in defeat for Cuba, which paid for porous set piece defending.
Series Matchup
- Canada: 1 win, 2 goals
- Cuba: 1 win, 3 goals
Officials
- Referee: VILLARREAL, Armando (USA)
- Assistant Referees: Anderson, Frank Batchelor (USA), Anderson, Ian Brooke (USA)
- 4th Official: Marrufo, Jair Antonio (USA)
