Placed alongside regional heavyweights Honduras, Panama and the defending champion United States in Group A of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Haiti faces a testing road in its sixth tournament appearance. The team have tangible reasons to believe that this summer’s regional showcase could prove memorable. They have twice qualified for the quarterfinals (2002, 2009) and now boast more roster depth than ever before. – source
According to Goal,
Haiti is not among the favorites for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but coach Marc Collat believes otherwise ahead of its opener against Panama. Marc Collat has told Haiti to prove its ability to compete against the best the CONCACAF Gold Cup has to offer as it starts a difficult Group A campaign against Panama on Tuesday. Frenchman Collat took over as Haiti head coach in January 2014 and led the team to a third-placed finish at the Caribbean Cup last November.
That showing was enough to earn Haiti a sixth appearance at the Gold Cup where it was drawn in a tough group against 2013 champion United States, Panama and Honduras – three sides heavily favored to go far in the tournament. Collat is aware that his team faces a tough task, but believes his squad has enough talent to mix it up with the best.
“It is a very difficult group,” Collat, whose team qualified for the Gold Cup by finishing third at the Caribbean Cup, said ahead the contest in Dallas. “But what I want the players to understand is that we really are able to compete with the other teams within the region.”
Haiti will be up against it from the off against a Panama side which is the fourth highest ranked team in the tournament. Furthermore, Panama has shown its mettle on the international stage in recent years, finishing runner-up at to United States at the 2013 Gold Cup and third in the Copa Centroamericana last year, while just a single point prevented it from qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil last year. Head coach Hernan Dario Gomez believes the unity within his team could prove crucial.
- Haiti Gold Cup Fixture List (Group A)
- July 7: Panama (Frisco, Texas)
- July 10: United States (Foxborough, Massachusetts)
- July 13: Honduras (Kansas City, Kansas)
