Canada vs Martinique:

Canada may well surprise at this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup and claim the ultimate victory for the first time in a long time. Now it is extremely important to beat Martinique in the 1st round, and any other result will make things for Canada much harder.

Canada has been unable to win any CONCACAF Gold Cup medals for 14 years, but in recent years they got every chance of becoming a grandee of North American soccer. The team's leader is Bayern defender Alfonso Davis, but he did not fly to the tournament due to injury. Lille's Jonathan David, who scored 15 times in 16 games for the national team, also remains out of the squad. Besiktas forward Kyle Larin will now work out for himself and that guy, but there are other talents in the national team. For example, Theo Corbeanu has already made his debut for Wolverhampton, and Ayo Akinola is gradually taking on leading roles for Toronto. Most of the Canadian squad's players play in MLS and the standouts from that league are Toronto's Jonathan Osorio and LA Galaxy's Marc-Anthony Kaye.

Yesterday, the Canadians successfully passed the second stage of the qualification round for the 2022 World Cup, winning 6 out of 6 matches of qualification. In the first stage, for example, the team scored 27 goals in 4 games, and then twice defeated the Haitians. In the home game, the game ended in a 3-0 defeat. From the very first minutes the Canadians took control of the ball, but by halftime, they missed a few chances. For example, Jonathan David shot several times at point-blank range after a pass from Alfonso Davies, but the goalie saved the game. In the second half, John Herdman's players improved themselves after an auto goal in the 46th minute. Kyle Larin and Junior Hoilett increased the advantage of the Canadian team.

The Martinique team reached the final part of the Gold Cup for the 3rd time in a row, but has never made it out of the group in 18 years. The team players have the right to play for the French national team, as Martinique does not participate in FIFA tournaments. Many of the team's players play in their home league, but there are also representatives of strong European clubs. Since 2019 Emmanuel Riviere, who played for Monaco, Newcastle, Saint-Etienne, Toulouse, Osasuna, and Metz, played for the Martinique national team. Jean-Sylvain Babin and Patrick Bernays were also on the radar in Europe, they also went to the Gold Cup. The main loss is Nancy forward Michael Biron, who scored 12 goals last season.

Mario Bocelli's men have not won a single game in their last five matches, drawing three times. The last match the Martinique team played in 2019 in the CONCACAF League of Nations, and then on their field, they tied with Honduras with a score of  1-1. Riviere opened the scoring already in the 9th minute, and then the team squandered quite a few chances to double the lead. For instance, Martinique failed to hit the empty net on two occasions, for which they paid dearly after the break: their opponent skillfully blocked a cross into the penalty area.

The team of Martinique proved in recent matches that they can create chances, and even against Honduras, they looked very strong. Compared with the last Gold Cup the team has strengthened the team at least due to Emmanuel Riviere, who is able to improve the realization of chances. Team Canada has lost several leaders recently, and it was Jonathan David and Alfonso Davies who created a lot of chances upfront. In the last head-to-head encounter, the audience could see goals from both sides, now we should expect something similar. I suggest the following betting options:

• W1 for 1.18;
• Both Teams To Score - No for 1.55;
• TO 2.5 for 1.665.