2015 Gold Cup Betting – Jamaica vs. El Salvador
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:39 am ESTPublished:
Jamaica (+125) vs El Salvador (+280), Draw (+225)
Currently sitting on top of Group B, ahead of Costa Rica and tournament co-hosts Canada, Jamaica have been a pleasant surprise through two matches in the 2015 Gold Cup. Tonight, the Caribbean nation will look to clinch top spot in the group with a win over El Salvador at BMO Field in Toronto (6:00 PM Eastern).
Jamaica have four points through two games after a draw against Costa Rica (2-2) and a last-minute win over Canada (1-0); the team needs just one point to secure a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament, but the “Reggae Boyz” aren’t playing for second place.
“We need a point, but we don’t play for a draw. We want to win, we want to make pressure against El Salvador,” said coach Winfried Schäfer according to the Jamaica Observer. “It’s not important whether we’re number one, we focus on only the next match. The next match is tomorrow, and when we play a good match and we win, that is more confidence for the quarter-finals.”
Though Jamaica bowed out of the 2015 Copa America without scoring a single goal, they pushed some very strong teams (including Argentina) to the limit and the experience gained is now paying off.
El Salvador, meanwhile, have two draws in their first two games, holding Canada scoreless (0-0) and earning a point with a late equalizer against Costa Rica (1-1). The last-minute draw against the Ticos kept the the team alive in their quest to reach the second round. But they need a win tonight to guarantee a spot in the quarterfinals.
Unfortunately for El Salvador, they haven’t had much success against Jamaica of late, losing the last three head-to-head, including one during the 2009 Gold Cup.  The last time the Salvadorans beat Jamaica was all the way back in 2001 when they earned a 2-0 win during the qualifiers for the 2002 World Cup.
Jamaica Likely due to the prep. provided by the Copa America, Jamaica look like the strongest team in Group B by a decent margin. Look for the Boyz to leave Toronto with a win and first place in the group.
Pick: Jamaica (+125).
(Photo credit:Â apasciuto (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)
Sports Writer
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
