Gold Cup Conclusions

Mexico are the champions. Despite their weakened squad they got the job done (though they certainly didn't have an easy time in any of their knockout matches) and claimed their 8th title, putting them two ahead of the US. Anyone reading this surely watched the final, so I'm not going to go into the details, but I just wanted to give my closing thoughts on the tournament as a whole.

16 teams worked out wonderfully. Everyone held their own more or less, with only Cuba never putting up a fight. Guyana did well and earned a point in the end and could've had more on another day, and of course Bermuda were excellent. Any minor drop in quality or parity does not outweigh the advantages of having a balanced format and a chance for more teams to compete.

World Cup qualifying is going to be extremely good. Look at what we saw this tournament. Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Panama, Jamaica, Haiti, El Salvador, Canada, Curaçao, and I'll throw in Honduras and Trinidad despite their lousy performances in the group stage. That's 11 hex hopefuls; I don't think we've ever had so many teams with a real shot at that final round. Qualifying for Qatar will be a difficult battle for everyone in this region.

This was maybe the most fun Gold Cup in history. There were a lot of classic moments in the group stage, Haiti were probably the most fun team ever, and a USA-Mexico final is always going to be an epic showdown for continental supremacy. The new teams like Bermuda were a pleasant surprise, and I think we can all agree the Nations League is about to be lit if its anything like this Gold Cup.

The word seems to be the US will be hosting the 2021 Gold Cup, which is good news for me as a fan who just wants to see Omar Browne in person, but it is unfortunate in that I think it's time for other countries to get a chance to host. Alas, we will continue to wait on that. The entire next cycle should be a blast regardless.

Regarding this blog, I have a few weeks of downtime where the region is mostly dormant, though MLS and some Caribbean leagues persist through the summer. Liga MX is back in just two weeks, along with most of Central America's domestic leagues. I am particularly excited about Jicaral in Costa Rica, who have finally earned promotion to the top flight after losing the promotional final in 2017 and 2018.

Also coming at the end of July is the 2019 CONCACAF League, with the new 22 team format in place. Expect some posts on that in the future. Until then, take care and thank you for reading! Glad to share this Gold Cup with all of you!