Gold Cup 2013: Preview and Viewing Info for Wednesday's Semifinal Matches

The 2013 Gold Cup continues barreling toward its finale Wednesday, with Arlington's Cowboys Stadium hosting this evening's two semifinal matchups.

Prohibitive favorites coming into the event, the United States and Mexico find themselves facing off against two Central American upstarts.

The USMNT, buoyed by a surprisingly dominant performance, take on a defensive-minded Honduras club. Jurgen Klinsmann led the United States to their sixth straight Gold Cup semifinal, having defeated El Salvador 5-1 in a quarterfinals romp Sunday night. The host country will be looking for its first Gold Cup championship since 2007.

Honduras, meanwhile, have pushed their way to the semifinals by just barely edging out their opponents. They defeated Costa Rica 1-0 to advance and have only given up two goals this entire tournament. Honduras are making their third semifinals appearance in the last four Gold Cups, each of which resulted in losses.

Mexico continue their push toward a third straight Gold Cup title in the nightcap, taking on a familiar Panamanian team. The two were paired in Group A together, with Panama ultimately winning the early stage. El Tri haven't been in the finest of form this year, so it will be interesting to see whether the two favorites can continue their push.

It won't be as easy as anyone thought. That much is for sure. With that in mind, here is a complete breakdown of where and when you can watch Wednesday night's action, along with quick predictions. 

United States vs. Honduras

When: Wednesday, July 24 at 7 p.m. ET

Where: Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas

Watch/Stream: Fox Soccer (TV), Fox Soccer 2 Go (Stream)

There has been much ado about the United States' Gold Cup run, and deservedly so. After taking some heat over much of his first two years running the USMNT (some deserved, some not), Jurgen Klinsmann has finally found his groove with the team. The United States have not lost during Gold Cup play, extending their overall winning streak to nine games—setting and continually extending a club record.

What's been most impressive about Klinsmann's side is the way with which it has won. The United States has never been a soccer juggernaut. They've never been anything close. They've never been even the underling's underling of a juggernaut, often being satisfied as folks stateside tousled their hair and gave them "attaboys" for good efforts.

But in Gold Cup play, this team has looked like one on the rise—especially in terms of depth. The United States brought a middling roster to the event, as was the case for many (if not all) participating countries. Nevertheless, they have defeated their CONCACAF brethren by an aggregate score of 16-3 through their first four matches, outscoring every other participant by at least seven goals. Chris Wondolowski, by far the biggest surprise of the tournament, has outscored six competing teams by himself.

All of that understandably has folks in the states bullish about this team's prospects, not only to advance to Sunday but to capture their first Gold Cup since 2007.

Honduras will present an interesting challenge. They won Group B in fine form and have pitched three clean sheets in their four matches. The lone exception to the shutouts was a 2-0 loss to Trinidad and Tobago, who lost to Mexico in their quarterfinal matchup.

Honduras has gotten to this point by playing sound defensive soccer, perhaps the best of anyone in the tournament. Despite being pelted at certain points against Costa Rica, the play in net has been superb as has the defensive effort. 

Their attack has been utterly fangless, though. The team has put the ball past a keeper just four times in this event, all of which came from different feet. There has been no dominating force to push the action, which will likely come back to haunt them against the United States. Holding possession and working the ball at the midfield will be key to keeping scores low, but the United States' firepower should prove too much.

With Landon Donovan in fine form and Wondolowski almost "due" at this point for another score, look for the USMNT to advance and look for their fifth Gold Cup title Sunday.

Score Prediction: United States 3, Honduras 0

Panama vs. Mexico

When: Wednesday, July 24 at 10 p.m. ET

Where: Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas

Watch/Stream: Fox Soccer (TV), Fox Soccer 2 Go (Stream)

The United States-Honduras result will understandably get a ton of fanfare. The United States is the host of the Gold Cup, and as we saw in the Confederations Cup, host countries understandably are the main focus of any tournament.

On the other hand, Panama's attempt to unseat defending Gold Cup champion Mexico could be one of the tournament's better matches. The two met in Group A play, the result being one of the finest triumphs in recent Panamanian soccer history.

Panama defeated El Tri for the first time in history in their opening contest, buoyed by breakout star Gabriel Torres. The 24-year-old forward scored his first two non-friendly goals in that match, pushing Panama to a 2-1 victory. Torres' excellent performance—he's tied with Wondolowski for the most scores in the Gold Cup—has been an overarching reason Panama have pushed themselves all the way to the semifinals for just the second time in tournament history.

It will be interesting to see whether they can pull it off again. Mexico has been a dominating force in Gold Cup play, winning each of the last two events and six overall—besting the United States' four for most all-time. The Mexicans also quickly righted their ship, defeating Canada and Martinique to finish in second place in Group A.

While El Tri have struggled throughout 2013—especially in the Confederations Cup, where they were ousted in the group stage—the team seems to have found a rhythm. Goal-scoring prowess still leaves a little to be desired, with Marco Fabian the side's saving grace with three goals thus far. Mexico has not been able to clear the ball past midfield when they've struggled, and it took 84 minutes for them to get a goal past Trinidad and Tobago. 

All of those signs point to Panama making it two straight. The Panamanians defeated Cuba 6-1 in their quarterfinal match, waltzing to the semifinals on the back of elite scorers. 

So, each choice. Pick Panama, move on and go watch the rest of Orange Is the New Black, right? Well, not so fast. Panama has admittedly looked better in each of their matches and are playing the best we've seen in a good while.

One problem: Every piece of historical evidence we have says choose Mexico. This matchup is like when the upstart young NBA team comes across the San Antonio Spurs. Yes, Torres is raining goals like Stephen Curry does three-pointers. 

But the old guard usually wins out here. 

Score Prediction: Mexico 1, Panama 1 (Mexico wins in penalty kicks)

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