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Caribbean sides Haiti and Jamaica square off in a somewhat surprising Gold Cup quarterfinal, to be played in Baltimore.
Haiti wasn`t expected to qualify so far, especially after being handed a tough group with USA, Panama and Guatemala. However, the Haitians played well to finish with 5 points, drawing with Panama and Honduras, both times 1-1 and losing a close one to USA, 0-1. Haiti doesn`t have too much individual quality in its ranks, but they are organized and they do have some good players at decent sides in Europe, surely an improvement on what they had in the recent past.
Boy, did Jamaica improve in the last few years! Their imports from English football, like Mariappa (Crystal Palace), Morgan (Leicester) and many others have transformed this team from a beating horse to a side that can challenge even the likes of Argentina. After performing brilliantly in Copa America, despite losing all games 1-0, there were question marks over the fitness of the Jamaicans, but they answered them in style. Jamaica was rock solid in the Gold Cup group stages, finishing with 7 points after beating Canada (1-0) and El Salvador (1-0), also drawing with Costa Rica (2-2).
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Team news: Haiti comes into this match relatively healthy, even if Jeff Louis is out. while Jamaica will miss 4 MLS-based players – Mattocks, Taylor, Powell and Watson. Keeper Miller is a slight doubt, but he should play. Fortunately, the Raggae Boyz have their more important players available.
Haiti performed pretty good in the group stage, but it`s tough to see them overcoming Jamaica. The two sides are pretty similar, relying a lot on defense and on a good tactical organization, only Jamaica is better in both categories. They also have better players and a ton of experience after the recent Copa America. Haiti will probably feel that they are the fresher side after Jamaica played in the Copa America and they are also healthier, so they will try to exploit that. But the Jamaicans looked rock solid in this tournament and it`s tough to see them losing against anyone – let alone against Haiti, who, despite playing well, was a little lucky to reach this stage, with results going their way in the final round.
Jamaica traditionally got the better of Haiti in modern days, winning 8 and drawing 2 of the last 10 meetings. Jamaica also won the previous meeting 2-0 last year in the Caribbean Cup. If the Raggae Boyz don`t suddenly collapse physically, they have solid chances to win this one in regular time, while at least a draw should be a lock.
Considering that Jamaica is more experienced and has a lot of solid English-based players that know how to properly kick a football (which I think is actually a pretty important analysis at a lesser level like the Gold Cup, where not everybody knows how to kick the football under pressure), I reckon they would be favorites if the match goes to penalties, so my tip is Jamaica to qualify. But, all in all, the Raggae Boyz simply represent the (much) better side and I expect them to win it in 90 minutes. Prediction: Haiti – Jamaica 0-1.
Haiti – Jamaica and Gold Cup live streaming available for players at Bet365.com.
Pick: Jamaica to qualify
Odds: 1.63 @ SmartLiveSports
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.04
Event date: 18 July
