The final matches of round two are being played tonight in Houston, Texas to sort out who will head into the last group game as favorite to progress.

First up, Guadeloupe will face Nicaragua in a must-win game for the both squads. Guadeloupe is in the driver’s seat after a good 2-1 win over Panama on Sunday, and will be looking for another victory over an inexperienced side to send them into the quarterfinals. Nicaragua have never qualified for the Gold Cup before and showed it in their 2-0 loss to Mexico in round one. They will have to find their game, and quickly, if they want to have any chance of qualifying for the second leg of the competition.

In the other game this evening Mexico will take on Panama. The Mexicans are veterans of the Gold Cup, having taken the most titles (7) and finishing runner-up in 2007. They showed excellent form against a less than perfect Nicaragua outfit on Sunday and if they can take down the Panamanians tonight there will be little hope of stopping them reaching the quarters.

BetUS has posted odds on both matches.

Guadeloupe
Handicap: -1 Ev; Moneyline: -200
Draw
Moneyline: +275
Nicaragua
Handicap: +1 -130; Moneyline: +500

Mexico
Handicap: -1 -140; Moneyline: -250
Draw
Moneyline: +300
Panama
Handicap: +1 +100; Moneyline: +600

Now, to the rest of round two’s games. Canada shot to the top of Group A with a great win over in-form El Salvador. The El Salvadorians would have been fired up after their surprise victory over Costa Rica in round one, but failed to convert their chances and, in the end, lost by the slimmest of margins: 1-0. It was Ali Gerba’s goal that was the decisive factor in the game, and it was an ugly one at that. Manuel Salazar made a shocking headed clearance – if you could even call it that – straight into the legs of Patrice Bernier. Bernier then took a shot when he really didn’t have control of the football, but Ali Gerba, unmarked and with great vision, deflected his shot into the back of the net. Canada now sit three points clear of the pack and only need a draw from their final game to confirm a spot in the quarterfinals.

Costa Rica diminished any hopes the Jamaicans had for a comfortable Gold Cup run with a 1-0 victory. Jamaica had already lost to Canada in the previous match and needed to win if they were to have any hope of automatically qualifying for the knockout stage. Instead, they proved time and time again that they could set up goals, but not finish. It seems that plenty of Jamaica’s forwards know how to belt the ball past the goalkeeper, but just not how to guide it into the net. Missed opportunities were what cost the Caribbean squad the match as well as frustration. A brain-snap from Rodolph Austin put his team down to ten men after he took out his opponent and then kicked him in the back while he was still on the ground – I honestly hope we don’t see him for the rest of the tournament; there are plenty of other sports where thuggery is encouraged but it’s got no place in football. After that incident the Jamaicans seemed all at sea and on 62 minutes the Costa Ricans pounced with a simple goal. The Jamaicans can still qualify for the quarterfinals, but they now have it all to do in their final match against El Salvador.

In the first Group B match of round two, Haiti took their first win of the tournament over Gold Cup newbies Grenada. The 2-0 loss means that Grenada must now do the impossible and overcome an experienced Honduran squad that will be doing everything in their power to make the quarterfinals. Grenada had plenty of opportunities – and talent – to score early on. Delroy Facey smashed the ball at goal but was met with an equally extraordinary save from Haitian stopper Zérphirin. A quick goal minutes later from Haiti meant that Grenada were playing catch-up, and it was clear that although they have renowned international strikers like Blackburn’s Jason Roberts, they are somewhat lacking in a powerful defence. This point was made clear with Haiti’s second goal in which Marcelin was allowed to walk right through the defence to score.

The United States took their second straight win of the Gold Cup last night as they easily overcame Honduras. A surprisingly lacklustre performance from the Hondurans means that they must get a win over Grenada on Saturday if they want to move into the next round. After the USA’s 4-0 drubbing of Grenada in round one, they were more than confident of victory over the 2005 semi-finalists. However it didn’t come as easy as in game one; it took nearly 74 minutes for the first goal, a powerful strike from Santino Quarantana. However, three minutes earlier it could have been Davies with the opener. A ridiculous clearance from keeper Escober hit Davies and deflected back towards goal, but it was only the luck of the football’s spin that kept it from crossing the line. At 79 minutes the US doubled their tally with veteran Brian Ching taking the honors.

BetUS has posted odds on Group A’s final matches to be played on Friday, and keep an eye out on the round three games for Group B and C which will be played on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

Costa Rica
Handicap: -½ -105; Moneyline: -105
Draw
Moneyline: +240
Canada
Handicap: +½ -125; Moneyline: +230

El Salvador
Handicap: pk Ev; Moneyline: +165
Draw
Moneyline: +220
Jamaica
Handicap: pk -130; Moneyline: +140