The semi-finals of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup are set to go in Chicago on Thursday with Cinderella story Guadeloupe looking to continue a miraculous run.
The two semi-final matches, both being held at Soldier Field, will pit the hometown American squad against Canada, and Mexico against upstart Guadeloupe.
The Americans are the defending Gold Cup champions and looked like the team to beat once again after rolling through group play undefeated with three wins. In fact, Team USA did not even allow a goal during group play. In the quarters, the Americans snuck past Panama 2-1 thanks to a goal on a penalty kick from Landon Donovan and another goal from Carlos Bocanegra. Donovan is the American's best goal scorer, but the Canadians will also have to pay close attention to speedy winger DaMarcus Beasley.
Canada won its group after an upset win over favored Costa Rica to start the tournament. The Canadians faced Guatemala in the quarterfinals and breezed to a 3-0 win after receiving a pair of goals from Ali Gerba and another marker from Dwayne De Rosario. Gerba and De Rosario lead the Canadian squad with three goals apiece in the soccer tournament, but Julian de Guzman may be the most dangerous Canadian man on the pitch when he has the ball.
The other semi-final is a shocking matchup between Mexico and Guadeloupe. The small cluster of islands known as Guadeloupe is an overseas department of France and is not even eligible to take part in the World Cup. It's pretty safe to say that nobody thought they would make it this far, considering they've never even qualified for the Gold Cup before. Guadeloupe began the tournament with a 1-1 draw versus Haiti and followed that up with a 2-1 stunning win over Canada. They dropped their final group-round match 1-0 to Costa Rica, but qualified for the quarterfinals as a third-place team. In the quarters, Guadeloupe won 2-1 as a huge underdog against Honduras, which was coming off a 5-0 drubbing of Cuba. Guadeloupe veteran Jocelyn Angloma got them on the board versus Honduras, while Richard Socrier netted the eventual game-winner.
Mexico got through group play with a 2-1 record after knocking off Panama and Cuba and falling to Honduras. The Mexicans edged Panama 1-0 in the quarter-finals thanks to a goal by Carlos Salcido in the 60th minute. Striker Jared Borgetti leads the Mexican team with two goals in the tournament and he, along with Cuauhtemoc Blanco, are Mexico's two best goal scorers.
The winners of the two semi-final matches will meet up in the Gold Cup final on Sunday, June 24, also at Soldier Field. The Gold Cup winner will go on to represent CONCACAF in the 2008 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
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