While Guadeloupe did not come to play and have been hurt by new restrictions within the French Football Federation about who they can field for this tournament, their can be no question that playing two successive matches on turf has helped the Costa Ricans.

Walter Centano’s absence it seems actually helped Costa Rica’s attack as the passing was more fluid, the attack quicker and the over reliance on an aging Centano obviously non existent.

Mexico will crush Costa Rica on a natural grass surface at Soldier Field. This game ought not to be played. The Ticos history in this tournament is one of underachievement especially in front of pro Mexican crowds. Add to that the fact that Costa Rica has proven they can almost never beat a full strength side in CONCACAF off of artificial turf. This semifinal has all the makings of a rout.

Giovanni Dos Santos has been the best player in the Gold Cup. The 20 year old should thank Sven Goran Eriksson for bloodletting him and fellow starlet Carlos Vela in the qualifying last year. Now both are ready to take CONCACAF by storm.

Dos Santos has shown his quality and versatility in this Gold Cup. Whether it’s build up play or simply needing a quick pass into space or even a clean finish, Dos Santos at only 20 looks like a man among boys in this competition.

Omar Bravo’s inclusion in this squad I found a bit odd if Javier Aguirre was really trying new attacking players. But perhaps Bravo is providing some leadership finally. Gerrado Torrado has not surprisingly been outstanding for El Tri.

We hear alot about the popularity of European football in the United States. I wonder when a match involving two European teams will get 82,000 fans on US soil? Well done El Tri fans and Dallas area soccer supporters.

Honduras eliminated Canada from the Gold Cup under what can only be described as controversial circumstances. For the second straight tournament Canada got the short end of the officiating losing to a vastly inferior Honduras “B” team on the night. On the narrow Link pitch, Julian De Guzman didn’t find the space in the center of midfield to direct the Canada attack, and Will Johnson failed to get the necessary width on the right side.