The El Salvador vs Haiti Gold Cup 2013 match will take place this Monday, July 15, 2013 (4:00 PM Pacific) at the BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. The match will be intense, as both teams need a good result here to move on to the next round. El Salvador needs a win to earn a guaranteed spot in the quarterfinals, Haiti can go through by getting a draw.
The top two teams in the group will go through, as well as 2 of the 3 best placed third place teams in the tournament.
Haiti is in a good position to make a surprise appearance in the quarterfinals. Even though Haiti lost the opening Group B match against Honduras 2-0, it displayed a prolific offense that likely deserved a better result. Nonetheless, Haiti would recover with a 2-0 victory over Caribbean rival Trinidad & Tobago.
Haiti was the superior team, using its speed to overwhelm the Trinidad defense. Now, with 3 points and a +0 goal differential, Haiti needs to get just a tie against El Salvador to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Haiti might even go through with a loss if Cuba and Belize end their match in a draw, or if the winner of that match doesn’t surpass their goal differential (assuming Trinidad does not defeat Honduras).
El Salvador is in a tougher spot than Haiti. They tied their first game against Trinidad & Tobago 2-2, and later lost to Honduras 1-0. This leaves them with just 1 point and a -1 goal differential. Here are the possible scenarios for El Salvador:
- If El Salvador defeats Haiti, El Salvador automatically earns a spot in the quarterfinals.
- A draw against Haiti would place El Salvador with 2 points. It would need Trinidad & Tobago to not defeat Honduras, and have the Cuba vs Belize match end in a draw.
- A loss against Haiti would leave El Salvador with 1 point. It would need Honduras to defeat Trinidad & Tobago, and have the Cuba vs Belize match end in a draw (assuming El Salvador loses by less than 4 goals).
As you can see, the scenarios where El Salvador doesn’t win are pretty complicated. La Selecta should just focus on coming up with the victory.
El Salvador vs Haiti Prediction
The El Salvador vs Haiti match will be a fierce encounter, both team have the knockout stages in their sights, and know it all depends on this match. Haiti has proven through two matches that it has the talent and skill to defeat a team with the somewhat limited level of La Selecta. However, don’t underestimate the heart and grit of El Salvador, they will fight ’till the bitter end.
The El Salvador vs Haiti match will end 1-2 in favor of Haiti. I predict Haiti will be the surprise team of the tournament, and will be a serious opponent for whoever they face in the quarterfinals (most likely Mexico). La Selecta will be left on life support, hoping for positive results in other matches.
El Salvador vs Haiti Television
The El Salvador vs Haiti match will be televised on Fox Soccer Channel and Unimas this Monday, July 15, 2013 at 4:00 PM Pacific.
