The 2015 Gold Cup enters its fourth day on Friday and all five FC Dallas players in the tournament now have one Group Stage game under their belt.
FCD is tied with Real Salt Lake and Toronto FC for the most representatives among MLS teams, but Dallas leads the pack in tournament contribution. Four players saw a full 90 minutes of action for their respective teams, while Kyle Bekker, the lone player who did not, saw 86 minutes of play for Canada.
On Tuesday, Blas Perez kicked off the Gold Cup at his MLS home in Frisco in the tournament’s opening match. The favored Panama scored first as Perez found Alberto Quintero just inside the penalty box, but Haiti struck in the 86th minute to earn a 1-1 draw. Blas finished with an assist and two shots in the contest. Panama is back in action on Friday against Honduras at 5 p.m. CT on FS2.
Wednesday was a big night with three Dallas players in action out in California. Je-Vaughn Watson and Jamaica earned a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica in a game that saw a flurry of goals in the first hour. The Reggae Boyz opened the scoring in the 13th minute before Costa Rica answered with goals in the 33rd and 37th minutes to take a 2-1 lead into half. Jamaica knotted the game at two in the 48th minute. Watson picked up the lone yellow card of the match in the 64th minute and finished the game with one shot.
In the second game of the night, Tesho Akindele, Kyle Bekker and Team Canada played to a 0-0 draw with El Salvador. Bekker took all five Canadian corners in the contest and set up one of Canada’s best scoring chances in the second half on a cross that Marcus Haber headed at the Salvadorian keeper. The Canadian and Jamaican sides square off on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT on FS2 with all three FC Dallas players expected to start.
Last and certainly not least, Moises Hernandez and Guatemala opened Group C play on Thursday against Trinidad and Tobago. Guatemala struggled early in the first half as Trinidad and Tobago struck three times in the first 25 minutes of the match. Carlos Ruiz ruined the clean sheet in the 62nd minute, but Guatemala fell 3-1 in their opening match. They will be back in action on Sunday against Cuba at 8 p.m. CT on FS2.
Keep up with all five FC Dallas players representing their countries throughout the Gold Cup at FCDallas.com/GoldCup with a full schedule and player tracker, as well as features and tournament info.
