CONCACAF Gold Cup: Guatemala vs Cuba Betting Odds
Group D Kicks off Tuesday
Both Sides Earn Nations League Promotion
Guatemala and Cuba both recently managed to earn promotions to the CONCACAF Nations League A. The sides will kick off their Gold Cup campaigns with a meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Tuesday. Both teams certainly have a chance to be one of the two sides that advance from Group D. They’ll also take on Canada and Guadeloupe in the group stage but this could end up being a decisive match. We’ll take a look at the Guatemala vs Cuba betting odds and preview the match.
CONCACAF Gold Cup
⚽ Guatemala vs Cuba ⚽
Date, time:
Location: DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, USA
Head-to-Head
Guatemala are on a four-game winning streak vs. Cuba, and they’ve kept clean sheets in each match. The last time these teams met was in a friendly last year. Guatemala’s Carlos Mejia scored the game’s only goal.
Guatemala and Cuba last met on their Gold Cup schedule in 2015, when Cuba won 1-0 in a Group C contest. However, Cuba have scored just four goals in their last ten matches vs. Guatemala.
Guatemala Struggle in Pre-Tournament Friendlies
- Next Match: Jun. 27 vs. Cuba
Guatemala had a busy lead up to the Gold Cup. They played four friendlies in June, starting with a match at Mexico in Mazatlan. Guatemala managed to outshoot Mexico but fell 2-0 to Raul Jimenez and Raul de la Rosa goals. Four days later, Guatemala also failed to score and fell 1-0 to Trinidad & Tobago.
Guatemala’s only win of the four friendlies came vs. Costa Rica, as Carlos Mejia scored the only goal of the match.
Venezuela defeated Guatemala on the 18th, 1-0. So, Guatemala have scored just one goal in their last four matches. They’ve also scored just once in each of their last two Gold Cup appearances.
In 2021, Guatemala finished last in Group A, with two losses and a draw vs. Trinidad and Tobago. They also finished in last place in their group in 2015, with the same record. Still, the Guatemala vs Cuba betting odds price Los Chapines as favorites here.
Guatemala last won a match at the Gold Cup in 2011, when they made the quarterfinals. In the CONCACAF Championship days, Guatemala won the tournament in 1967 but they’ve never made it past the semifinals of the Gold Cup. Guatemala lack a consistently prolific goal scorer but did get Rubio Rubin to switch allegiances from the USA. He’s scored three goals in his first eight appearances and is one to watch.
Cuba Get Tough Experience Under Their Belt
- Next Match: Jul. 1 vs. Guadeloupe
Cuba took an interesting route to Gold Cup preparation. They scheduled road matches vs. South American powerhouses Chile and Uruguay. Cuba struggled heavily in the first match vs. Chile.
They fell 3-0 and failed to put a shot on target. Last Tuesday, Cuba did put up a fight against Uruguay, though. While Cuba fell 2-0, they had decent spells of possession and put four shots on goal.
Now, they’ll look to make it out of the group stage of the Gold Cup for the first time since 2013. Cuba did not qualify for the Gold Cup in 2021 and in 2019 they failed to score a goal and put up a -17 goal difference.
Note that Cuba have never finished a CONCACAF Championship or a Gold Cup with a positive goal difference. So, they’ve historically not been a good pick for betting on soccer.
A handful of Cubans play in the Guatemalan league, including captain/midfielder Aricheell Hernández. Cuba’s forwards Maikel Reyes and Luis Paradela are two players to watch as they’ve combined for 16 international goals.
Match Analysis and Odds
In this Gold Cup opener, Guatemala come in as one-goal favorites. They are on a six-game winless run in the Gold Cup but are still -210 favorites for the match. Recall that Guatemala are on a four-game winning streak vs. Cuba and have outscored them 6-0 on the streak.
The Guatemala vs Cuba betting odds list Cuba +1 and Guatemala -1 at -115 odds. Cuba did win the only other Gold Cup meeting but are +600 underdogs for this match in Fort Lauderdale.
A draw displays +290 odds for Tuesday night’s match but both teams will be looking for all three points here. Five of the last six head-to-head matchups have finished with two goals or fewer. However, over two goals sit at -140 odds for the match.
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