2015 Gold Cup Betting – Panama vs. Haiti

Panama (-175) vs Haiti (+550), Draw (+275)

Two years ago, Panama stunned Mexico in the Gold Cup semifinal only to fall to the host Americans in the title game. Today, the 54th-ranked Panamanians will start the what they hope is another impressive run when they square off with Haiti in the opening game of the 2015 tournament (7:00 PM Eastern at Toyota Stadium in Dallas) which will once again be played in the US.

Panama has reached the final of CONCACAF’s biennial tournament twice, losing to Team USA both times. This time out, look for the Marea Roja to employ an even more aggressive, attacking style of play under new Colombian coach Hernan Dario Gomez, a manager known for his offensive prowess.

Gomez was disappointed that his team missed out on the 2014 World Cup, but would view a solid Gold Cup showing as a nice consolation prize.

“I want to give a victory to Panama, but in a year that is not achieved, hopefully you do well in the Gold Cup,” Gomez told CONCACAF’s official website.

Panama have been up and down in 2015, though, getting demolished in away friendlies by the USA (2-0) and Ecuador (4-0), but posting an impressive win at home over surging Costa Rica (2-1) and edging Trinidad and Tobago away (1-0).

Gomez isn’t too sure what to expect from his fickle squad come this evening. “It is difficult to say how we are or how we are doing because football players have many ups and downs now, and it is difficult to give a clear idea of this,” added the coach.

Haiti – who are making just the sixth appearance in the tournament – punched their ticket to the Gold Cup by finishing third in the Caribbean Cup. The team comes into the tourney ranked 76th in the world and will be hoping to at least equal their previous best result: quarterfinal appearances in 2002 and 2009. However, that may be a tall order given that they were drawing into a group with Panama, the US, and Honduras.

With Panama and the US poised to take the top-two spots in Group A, Haiti will likely have to be one of the top-two third-place finishers in the Group Stage in order to advance. That said, an upset tonight would go along way to ensuring a place in the knockout phase of the 12-team tournament.

Tonight’s game will be just the fourth-ever matchup between Panama and Haiti, and the first non-friendly. Panama won two of the previous three (4-0 and 3-0), while the third and most recent ended in a draw (1-1 back in 2009). Panama are the clear choice in this game; playing in a group with the host Americans, the team will know that it needs to start with a win.

Pick: Panama -175.