Haiti and Mexico can take a step closer to the knockout stage of the 2023 Gold Cup when they square off on matchday two of the competition this Thursday at State Farm Stadium.

El Tri came away with a convincing 4-0 victory over Honduras in their opener, while the Haitians won dramatically 2-1 versus Qatar thanks to a goal in the 97th minute.

Match preview

© Reuters

The Haitians maintained their 100% record in 2023 thanks to an injury-time goal in each half, winning their opening match at this competition for the first time since 2019.

Their come-from-behind victory against the 2022 World Cup hosts was the first time this team had managed to win a match in which they had been trailing at the half since erasing a 2-0 deficit against Canada at the 2019 Gold Cup quarter-finals and coming away with a 3-2 triumph.

They have conceded the opening goal in six of their last seven Gold Cup affairs but have won four of those encounters.

Sunday was the first match for Gabriel Calderon Pellegrino as manager, as his side will enter this contest unbeaten against CONCACAF opponents since late March 2021.

Les Grenadiers have scored multiple goals in six consecutive contests while conceding a goal or fewer in their last four fixtures.

It has been over 50 years since they last defeated Mexico internationally, claiming a 3-1 victory in an April 1971 encounter played in Port-au-Prince.

© Reuters

Mexico made quite the first impression on interim boss Jaime Lozano, taking control of their opening match early and pouring it on from there.

That was their biggest victory at the Gold Cup since crushing Cuba 7-0 in their opening match in 2019, as the Mexicans are now unbeaten in 14 successive group-stage encounters in this competition.

Their victory over Honduras this past weekend comes at a very unsettling time for this program, which has not lifted a continental trophy in four years, winning two of their previous five encounters against CONCACAF opponents.

It has been a while since they lost a match to Haiti, and it has been quite some time since Mexico last conceded against them, doing so in a November 1981 friendly when both sides played to a 1-1 draw.

El Tri have not lost to a Caribbean opponent in over four years, the last time being at the 2017 Gold Cup when Jamaica scored late in that semi-final clash to claim a 1-0 victory.

This team have not given up the opening goal in the group stage of this competition since July 2013, when Gabriel Torres scored the first of two goals for Panama, as they defeated El Tri 2-1.

Team News

© Reuters

Carl Fred Sainte, Bryan Alceus, Frantzdy Pierrot and Ricardo Ade were the only Haitians that began their Nations League encounter versus Bermuda in March who kept their place in the starting 11 this past weekend, while Alexandre Pierre reclaimed his spot in goal with Josue Duverger relegated to the bench.

Fafa Picault and Danley Jean Jacques both saw the field in their opening fixture, while Garissone Innocent remains without an appearance for the Haitian team.

A penalty late in the opening half by Duckens Nazon drew Haiti level on Sunday, his 28th on the international stage and eighth in the Gold Cup, putting him level with Paulo Wanchope, Brian McBride, Carlos Ruiz, Carlo Costly and Gabriel Torres for the seventh-most in this competition.

Johan Vasquez picked up his 10th cap for Mexico this weekend as he began at centre-back alongside Edson Alvarez, Jorge Sanchez and Jesus Gallardo, allowing just a single shot on target to the Hondurans, while Israel Reyes reached double-digits for caps himself and Luis Chavez is one away from hitting 20.

Approximately 50 seconds into their opening fixture, Luis Romo scored for El Tri, the third-fastest goal in the history of this competition, notching an insurance marker in the 23rd minute before Orbelin Pineda made it 3-0 and Chavez rounded out the scoring as Guillermo Ochoa picked up a clean sheet.

Ochoa had a shutout the last time they faced Haiti in the semi-finals of this tournament in 2019, as Raul Jimenez scored a 93rd-minute penalty, helping the Mexicans to a 1-0 triumph, while the current Salernitana keeper also posted a clean sheet against the Haitians at the 2009 Gold Cup when El Tri won 4-0.

Haiti possible starting lineup:
A. Pierre; Arcus, Ade, Metusala, Christian; Saba, Alceus; Picault, Etienne, Nazon; Pierrot

Mexico possible starting lineup:
Ochoa; J. Sanchez, Alvarez, Vasquez, Gallardo; Herrera, Chavez, Romo; Lainez, Martin, Pineda

We say: Haiti 1-2 Mexico

The Haitians showed great attacking quality and looked relatively cohesive despite introducing several newcomers to the lineup in their opening fixture.

However, Mexico seem to be in much higher spirits under new management, have a great track record against Haiti and have shown the ability to come through in these group-stage encounters, all of that to say we are giving them a slight edge on Wednesday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Joel Lefevre

Previews by email