The bracket for the CONCACAF Gold Cup knockout stage is all set and the Quarterfinals kick off on Saturday. So far, there have been few surprises at the competition. As expected, Mexico, Canada, Panama and the USA all won their groups. However, Guatemala did beat out Jamaica to second place in Group C and they’ll be dreaming of beating Canada on Sunday.
We’ll quickly go through each Quarterfinal matchup and pick our best soccer bets for each one. We stand by our earlier predictions that Mexico and Canada are the best outright bets. If you tailed our picks you’d have Mexico at +188 odds or Canada at +600. The latest CONCACAF Gold Cup outright odds price Mexico at +150 and Canada at +500.
CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal #1: Panama vs Honduras
- Date & Time: Saturday, June 28th, 7:15 pm ET
- Venue: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- TV: Fox Sports 1
Panama’s been missing three of their best players but that didn’t stop them from scoring the most goals of any team in the group stage. Ismael Diaz scored a first half hat trick in the 4-1 win over Jamaica and he leads the Gold Cup Golden Boot race, with five goals.
Adalberto Carrasquilla, Jose Fajardo and Cecilio Waterman are all out for Panama but they still have the quality to beat Honduras. Los Canaleros won all three group stage games and are a well-coached outfit.
Meanwhile, Honduras lost 6-0 in their opening match against Canada. They still recovered to finish in second place in Group B, with wins over Curacao and El Salvador. Panama’s three group stage matches finished with 13 goals, while Honduras scored four and conceded seven.
Both teams have scored in the last three meetings of this fixture and neither defense is good. Our best soccer bet of the game, from a value perspective, is Panama to win and both teams to score at +266 CONCACAF Gold Cup odds.
CONCACAF Gold Cup Quarterfinal #2: Mexico vs Saudi Arabia
- Date & Time: Saturday, June 28th, 10:15 pm ET
- Venue: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona
- TV: Fox Sports 1, TUDN, Univision
After conceding twice to the Dominican Republic in a 3-2 opening victory, Mexico have kept shutouts in consecutive games. A 0-0 draw against Costa Rica last Sunday was enough for El Tri to go through as Group A winners. Mexico have made the Semifinals in each of the last nine Gold Cups and bettors shouldn’t overthink this one.
Saudi Arabia can remain competitive here but we don’t think they have the quality to take down Mexico. Captain Salem Al-Dawsari is busy at the FIFA Club World Cup with Al Hilal along with a few other national team regulars. Saudi Arabia only lost 1-0 to the USA and got through in second place with a 1-0 win over Haiti and 1-1 draw against Trinidad and Tobago.
Three of Mexico’s five goals at the Gold Cup have come from defender Cesar Montes, who has been dangerous attacking set pieces. We don’t think it will be very easy to create chances in this match either. Even so, our best soccer bet is Mexico to win and under 3.5 goals, at -103 odds. The CONCACAF Gold Cup is Mexico’s to lose, with a favorable path to yet another final.
Gold Cup Quarterfinal #3: Canada vs Guatemala
- Date & Time: Sunday, June 28th, 4:00 pm ET
- Venue: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- TV: Fox Sports 1
Canada’s opener was a statement 6-0 win over Honduras, even without coach Jesse Marsch on the sidelines. Marsch served the second and final match of his suspension as Canada disappointingly drew 1-1 against Curacao. However, Les Rogues managed to win Group B as they took down El Salvador 2-0 on Tuesday night.
Now, Canada take on a Guatemala side that has qualified for consecutive Gold Cup knockout stages for the first time. Guatemala upset Jamaica 1-0 to kick off the tournament. Following a 1-0 loss to Panama, Los Chapines defeated Guadeloupe 3-2 to finish in second place in Group B.
Guatemala have managed to get some good recent results and they also drew against Canada in the last Gold Cup. Los Chapines finished ahead of Canada in their group in 2023 but Canada’s still unbeaten in the last five meetings while outscoring Guatemala 8-0.
Canada will also get a boost in this one. Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio is joining the squad following Porto’s early exit from the FIFA Club World Cup. We think Canada will grab a win here but Guatemala should be able to keep things from getting out of control.
Our best soccer bet for this one is Canada to win 1-0, 2-0 or 3-0 at +150 odds.
Gold Cup Quarterfinal #4: USA vs Costa Rica
- Date & Time: Sunday, June 28th, 7:00 pm ET
- Venue: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- TV: Fox, TUDN, Univision
Shorthanded USA managed to finish in first place in Group D with wins over Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti. While the USMNT blew away Trinidad and Tobago, 5-0, the other victories were narrow. Malik Tillman scored three goals in the group stage and he’s become a key player in recent weeks.
However, USA are missing Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson, Gio Reyna, Ricardo Pepi and Flo Balogun for the Quarterfinal against Costa Rica. Meanwhile, Costa Rica’s Manfred Ugalde and Joseph Mora are suspended. Ugalde scored three of Costa Rica’s six goals in the knockout stage and his absence should hurt them.
Costa Rica didn’t manage a single shot on target in their 0-0 draw against Mexico so chances may be hard to come by here as well. We think this will be a low scoring match and we’re going with Costa Rica +1.5 and under 2.5 goals at +144 combined odds.
This looks like it should be the most competitive Quarterfinal matchup. USA should get through but it wouldn’t be completely shocking if Costa Rica pulls off the upset. The winner of this one will face either Canada or Guatemala in the Semifinal.
