If sportsbooks are correct on Friday night, the standings in Group A for the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup will be almost sorted after the matches. Legal North American online sportsbooks have slotted Mexico and the United States as huge favorites in the contests.
While these represent the first meetings of the Dominican Republic and Mexico and Argentina and the United States in quite some time, recent form and the rosters for both of the favorites reinforce the sportsbooks’ opinions. Thus, bettors might find better value looking elsewhere besides the moneylines.
Dominican Republic vs. Mexico details, handicapping
This will be the first meeting of these two national teams since Jan. 22, 2012. While that’s been more than long enough for the score in that match to be irrelevant, Mexico did claim victory in that contest 7-0. Thus, Mexico is the favorite to make it back-to-back wins in this series, albeit with over 12 years between matches.
- Kickoff — 7:30 p.m. ET, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024
- Venue — Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, United States
- Broadcast — ESPN in both the Dominican Republic and Mexico, OneSoccer in Canada (English and French language), CBS or Paramount+ (English-language), ESPN (Spanish language) in the United States
- Previous matches: Dominican Republic 0-5 vs. USA, Mexico 0-0 against Argentina
Prior to that draw with Argentina, Mexico had won 13 matches in a row. Mexico hasn’t dropped any of its last 19 consecutive matches, with its last loss coming on Sept. 2, 2022, against New Zealand. For the Dominican Republic, the recent form hasn’t been strong.
While the Dominicans came in on a six-match winning streak, they hadn’t won any of their previous six matches before starting that streak. That stretch of six matches included four losses. In three of those four matches, the Dominicans managed a total of just one goal.
Meanwhile, Mexico had scored at least three goals in 10 of those 19 matches leading up to the draw with Argentina. For Friday’s match against the Dominican Republic, the goal line on ESPN Bet sits at 2.5 with the better odds on the under.
Argentina vs. USA details, handicapping
For this pairing, the last meeting was much more recent. The Argentinians last faced the USA almost three years ago to the day, with the USA prevailing 6-0. Once again, then, the favorite has the chance to make it consecutive victories in the series.
- Kickoff — 10:15 p.m. ET, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024
- Venue — Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California, United States
- Broadcast — ESPN in Argentina, OneSoccer in Canada (English and French language), CBS or Paramount+ (English-language), ESPN (Spanish language) in the United States
- Previous matches: USA 5-0 vs. the Dominican Republic, Argentina 0-0 vs. Mexico
For the Argentinians, earning that draw against Mexico was a bit of a relief. Argentina hasn’t won any of its past four matches and came into the Gold Cup on a three-match losing streak. Prior to defeating Bolivia in October 2023, the Argentinians had another five-match streak without any wins.
Perhaps most vexing for Argentina is that the team hasn’t scored since that win over Bolivia. At the same time, the Argentinians haven’t exactly been giving up goals right and left, as their goal differential over the past five matches has been -8.
Meanwhile, the United States is on a four-game winning streak and hasn’t lost any of its past seven matches. During that stretch, the USA has averaged 2.5 goals and posted a goal differential of +17. ESPN Bet has the goal line on this match at 3.5 with better odds on the under.
