FOOTBALL Preview: U.S. finishes group play with Trinidad in CONCACAF Champs

Dangerous (left to right): U.S. strikers Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe

After routing Mexico and Panama by a combined 11-0 score, the no. 1-ranked U.S. women’s team will face Trinidad & Tobago in its final group match in the CONCACAF Women’s Championship on Wednesday at Shalen’s Stadium in Cary, North Carolina.

The reality is that – as expected – the U.S. and Canada are on a collision course for the final, although the situation for the other semifinalists is opaque. In Group A, Panama and Mexico are both 1-1 and will play on Wednesday.

In Group B, Canada is 2-0 and has a 14-0 goal differential after a 12-0 win over Cuba. Behind them are Costa Rica (1-1) and Jamaica (1-1), and the goal differential for Costa Rica is +7 to -1 for Jamaica. But Costa Rica gets Canada in its final game and the Jamaicans get Cuba (0-20 on goals), so nothing is assured.

The U.S. has hammered its two opponents, with its “first team” blanking Mexico, 6-0, and the “second team” stomping Panama, 5-0. On Wednesday, the U.S. gets Trinidad & Tobago, which has lost both of its games and has scored one goal and given up seven. In its first two games, the American squad has out-shot its opponents by 28-0 in the first half and 58-7 in total.

Scores and schedule:

∙ Group A:

4 October:
Panama 3, Trinidad & Tobago 0
United States 6, Mexico 0

7 October:
United States 5, Panama 0
Mexico 4, Trinidad & Tobago 1

10 October:
Panama vs. Mexico
United States vs. Trinidad & Tobago (7:30 p.m. Eastern time, on FS1 and UDN)
(Games at Shalen’s Stadium: Cary, North Carolina)

∙ Group B:

5 October:
Canada 2, Jamaica 0
Costa Rica 8, Cuba 0

8 October:
Jamaica 1, Costa Rica 0
Canada 12, Cuba 0

11 October:
Cuba vs. Jamaica
Costa Rica vs. Canada
(Games at H-E-B Park: Edinburg, Texas)

The top two teams out of each group will advance to the semifinals at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. The stakes in this tournament are high: the top three teams will qualify directly to the 2019 World Cup, with a fourth team moving into a play-off, with that winner to qualify.

All of the tournament games will be shown on FS1 or FS2, as well as Univision. The semis will be on 14 October and the finals on 17 October.

The U.S. now has an unbeaten streak of 23 (20-0-3) games since a loss to Australia in mid-2017. In 2018, the U.S. women are 13-0-2 and have outscored their opponents, 47-10. The U.S. women are now 2-0-0 vs. Panama; the only prior game was in 2002.

This is the 10th edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship, first held in 1991. The U.S. has dominated the event, winning in 1991-93-94-2000-02-06-14 and taking the bronze medal in 2010. All-time, the American women have now compiled a 29-1-0 record in this tournament (169-5 on goals scored!), losing only in 2010 and did not compete in 1999 as an automatic qualifier for the World Cup as the host country. Canada won the 1998 and 2010 tournaments.

Look for the scores here.