Written by Juan Pereira

Photo by Concacaf.com

The Concacaf Gold Cup is back in Houston! We’ve had three matches in the span of three days, with each game having its own unique twist. 

Haiti’s match against Trinidad and Tobago only had slightly over 2,000 people attending, but the fans that went delivered. It was a fun atmosphere that transcended onto the pitch. 

Although no goals were scored in the first half, Haiti’s Jean-Kévin Duverne was sent off after denying Trinidad and Tobago a clear goal-scoring opportunity, which meant that Haiti would have to battle for most of the match with 10 men. Just a few minutes after Duverne was sent off, Haiti was awarded a penalty, but it was later revoked by VAR. 

Haiti scored in the 49th minute thanks to standout Frantzdy Pierrot, but Trinidad and Tobago answered back with a goal of their own in the 68th minute. As the match entered the final ten minutes, both teams forgot how to play defense, which led to pure Concacaf football. Neither side was able to take advantage of the constant back-and-forth, and the match ended 1-1. 

On Saturday, Shell Energy Stadium hosted two games, the first one being a 1-1 draw between Curaçao and Canada. Entering the match, Canada was ranked 30th in the FIFA world rankings, while Curaçao was 60 spots lower at 90th. Even though the northerners had an early lead thanks to a goal from Nathan Saliba in the 9th minute, the small Caribbean country had more physicality than Canada and was able to handle the 90-degree weather. Despite having a few goals disallowed, Curaçao found the equalizer in stoppage time. 

The most hyped match in this run of games was Honduras versus El Salvador, and the atmosphere inside Shell Energy Stadium was incredible. El Salvador dominated the opening minutes of the match, and Honduras had to weather the storm and set up in a low block for large swaths of the first half. As time ticked on, however, Honduras started to gain control, and former Dynamo player Romell Quioto opened the scoring for them after some quick combination play put him through on goal. 

The second half saw more of the same for Honduras, who continued to tighten their grip on the match, leaving El Salvador with no choice but to push more men forward in their search for an equalizer. In the 95th minute of stoppage time, Dixon Ramirez took advantage of El Salvador’s high line and scored the second goal for Honduras after beating their goalkeeper in a 1v1 at the halfway line, sending the Honduran fans into a frenzy. 

Honduras’ 2-0 victory against El Salvador wrapped up an exhilarating three days at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. After Tuesday’s clash between Guatemala and Guadeloupe, no more matches will be played in Houston until the final at NRG Stadium. Fans will be counting down the days until the city becomes the center of North American soccer on July 6th.