MIAMI. - The 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup will officially kick off with the Prelims on Friday afternoon at the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Twelve teams will arrive in town to compete for the final three places in the 2023 Gold Cup group stage. All preliminary matches are single elimination; it is win or go home every time you take the field.
Antigua and Barbuda vs Guadeloupe
The Prelims will begin with a showdown between Antigua and Barbuda and Guadeloupe, an all-Caribbean affair between two sides that have plenty of recent history with one another.
These two teams were actually in the same group in the recent Nations League B cycle. Both sides finished with nine points, and Guadeloupe scored an impressive victory over group winners Cuba, but it was the Benna Boys who won both head-to-head matchups by a score of 1-0. Myles Weston scored in the home fixture, while Ashley Nathaniel-George delivered the blow in Guadeloupe.
Guadeloupe have appeared at the tournament on four previous occasions, making the knockout round twice, including a run to the semifinals in 2007.
Forward Thierry Ambrose impressed during the Nations League, leading the team with three goals. Also in the squad is Matthias Phaeton, who scored twice during the 2021 Gold Cup Prelims and once in the group stage.
Antigua and Barbuda are making their debut at the tournament, though they are not without history. The team was among the strongest in the Caribbean in the 1980s, prior to the advent of the Gold Cup. They also made a solid run in 2014 World Cup qualification. But a win at the Gold Cup would surely trump all prior achievements.
The aforementioned duo of Weston and Nathaniel-George were the two most productive attacking players for the Benna Boys during the Nations League. Weston led the team with two goals, while Nathaniel-George had one assist to go along with his goal. Goalkeeper Nick Townsend was especially impressive and was named to the League B Best XI at the end of the tournament.
Game Notes Antigua and Barbuda vs Guadeloupe
Martinique vs Saint Lucia
In the second preliminary match of the day, Martinique will take on Saint Lucia. This is Saint Lucia’s debut in any capacity at the Gold Cup, while Martinique have become quite familiar to fans across the region thanks to their continued appearances in the tournament. They’ve qualified for four of the previous five Gold Cups and have won games at three of them.
Martinique arrived here via Nations League A, where they finished third in a group with Panama and Costa Rica with one point.
Saint Lucia, on the other hand, come from League C, where they managed a perfect 4W-0D-0L record against Anguilla and Dominica. They never trailed in any of the matches and were typically in control from start to finish.
The Martinique squad does look different than in years past, with the majority of the selected players having fewer than 10 caps. But longtime captain Daniel Herelle, who has been playing for his country since 2006, will be sure to provide some stability and veteran leadership to the rest of his team. Striker Kevin Fortune has scored at each of the previous two Gold Cups, including the 1,000th goal in tournament history against Haiti in 2021.
Saint Lucia are led by their own longtime defender, Kurt Frederick. Frederick scored three times during the Nations League C, once again proving that he is capable of coming forward and punishing any teams that fail to respect his offensive abilities. Andrus Remy and Gregson President also both finished that competition with two goals.
History favors Martinique, who have won six of the nine matches played between these two teams. Saint Lucia’s only ever victory against Martinique was in April of 1999 as part of the preliminary rounds of the Caribbean Cup.
Game Notes, Stats Curacao vs Saint Kitts and Nevis
Curacao vs St Kitts and Nevis
The final preliminary match of the day will see Curacao square off with Saint Kitts and Nevis in a clash between two sides with a penchant for the dramatic.
Four years ago, Curacao snuck into the knockout stages of the 2019 Gold Cup in thrilling fashion, and gave the United States a really tough game in the quarterfinals. That performance has raised the bar for the expectations of a team that has only appeared at two previous Gold Cups. Nonetheless, Curacao are hoping to make another run.
Saint Kitts and Nevis are getting their first taste of major tournament football, and are looking to go on a magical run of their own. This group has already done it once before, in the First Round of 2022 World Cup qualification by topping a group headlined by Trinidad and Tobago.
The Sugar Boyz went unbeaten in Nations League C play, with three wins and a draw against Aruba and Saint Martin. The team’s nine goals were scored by eight different players; a prime example of the side’s overall cohesion as a unit.
Curacao managed just three points in their own Nations League A campaign, but the fish were much bigger. A comfortable win on the road in Honduras is nothing to sneeze at even for the very top teams in the region.
Much of the core from the 2019 team, including Leandro Bacuna, Cuco Martina, and goalkeeper Eloy Room are back, and striker Rangelo Janga, fresh off a solid season in Romania, has been brought in to bolster the attack.
The match will be the first ever meeting between these two sides.
