Sometimes it seems as though the Gold Cup is just a prelude to the inevitable Mexico vs. United States final, but there's some interesting football to be had outside of the big two names in CONCACAF. There's also some drama as well, and the semifinal between Honduras and Mexico is a match which could well see one of the traditional powers upset.
Mexico Vs. Honduras, 2011 Gold Cup (Copa Oro) Semifinals: El Tri Should Take Honduras Seriously - FMF State Of Mind
Honduras, despite their slog through the group stages, are a pretty good team, and what’s more, they’ve shown the ability to beat El Tri on a fairly regular basis, something that will worry Mexico. Eben Lehman, writing for SB Nation’s Mexican futbol blog FMF State of Mind, has pointed out that this really isn’t a team that the favourites should take lightly.
Honduras may not be El Tri’s top rival, but the two teams have developed an increasingly intense relationship over the years. Much of this is due to the recent success of Honduras on the field. In the third round of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Honduras defeated Mexico 1-0. That result was later followed up with another win over Mexico in the final round hexagonal -- a decisive 3-1 victory in April of 2009. While Mexico would get a bit of revenge in the return match at Estadio Azteca six months later, the point had already been made -- Honduras were no longer a team to be taken lightly.
With Mexico starting slowly in virtually every game they’ve played so far in this tournament, there’s a real chance that Honduras could mimic Guatemala, grab the first goal, and put significant pressure on El Tri. Of course, we know what happened to Guatemala, but that game ended up being much closer than it had any right to be. For the sake of spectacle, it would be interesting of Mexico continued to scuffle in the first half of this match.
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