Gold Cup 2015: Latest Group Results, Tables and Schedule After Mexico vs. Cuba

Mexico made a bold statement on Friday as they opened up their Group C Gold Cup campaign with a 6-0 drubbing of Cuba.

Oribe Peralta netted a hat-trick in a confident display from Miguel Herrera's side, but Cuba were under-strength and abject.

In Group C's other match, Trinidad picked up a crucial 3-1 win over Guatemala, which puts them in a fine position to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Read on for an overview of the action from Day 3 of the CONCACAF tournament, along with updated group standings and Friday's schedule.

Group	Fixture	Result
C	Trinidad vs. Guatemala	3-1
C	Mexico vs. Cuba	6-0

Position	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GD	P
Group A
1	United States	1	1	0	0	1	3
2	Panama	1	0	1	0	0	1
3	Haiti	1	0	1	0	0	1
4	Honduras	1	0	0	1	-1	0
Group B
1	Costa Rica	1	0	1	0	0	1
2	Jamaica	1	0	1	0	0	1
3	Canada	1	0	1	0	0	1
4	El Salvador	1	0	1	0	0	1
Group C
1	Mexico	1	1	0	0	6	3
2	Trinidad and Tobago	1	1	0	0	2	3
3	Guatemala	1	0	0	1	-2	0
4	Cuba	1	0	0	1	-6	0

Date	Fixture	Group	Time (ET/BST)
Friday, July 10	Honduras vs. Panama	A	6 p.m./11 p.m.
Friday, July 10	USA vs. Haiti	A	9:30 p.m./1:30 a.m.

Mexico Make Perfect Start

Mexico sent only a shadow squad to the Copa America in Chile in the knowledge that they had the Gold Cup to come.

A tournament they have won six times, El Tri were rightly one of the favourites coming into the competition hosted by the USA and Canada.

Their match against Cuba in Chicago on Thursday could hardly have been an easier opener, but they still did well to completely dominate their opponents, who were missing several players because of visa issues, as AtTheBuzzer explained:

Peralta and Mexico's opener came after 17 minutes with Carlos Vela then doubling the lead minutes later following a poor clearance from the Cubans.

A powerful hit from Peralta then made it 3-0, and skipper Andres Guardado headed home a deserved fourth just before the break, per football writer Cristian Nyari:

Peralta completed his hat-trick just after the hour from close range before substitute Giovani Dos Santos completed the rout 15 minutes from time.

It was a totally dominant display from the Mexicans and gives them terrific momentum heading into the rest of the tournament, but as Herrera noted after the match, their opponents on the day were not up to much, per AP's Dave Royse (h/t the News Tribune):

"

This tournament's very even. I mean we had a weak opponent today, but the U.S. national team won well (in its first Gold Cup match), Jamaica had a good game, Trinidad and Tobago had a good game. All these are good teams.Sure, the group play looks easy for us, and we had an easy game today. But the second game, and third game and second round could all increase in level of quality, and the teams in the second round will be good teams that will deserve to be there. We expect it to be harder as we go along; that's just how tournaments work.

"

Mexico's group rivals Trinidad and Tobago did indeed make a good start in beating Guatemala with relative ease in their opener in Chicago.

Sheldon Bateau and Cordell Cato scored inside the first 15 minutes and Joevin Jones added a third 10 minutes later to give Stephen Hart's side a 3-0 lead at the break.

They failed to add another in the second half, and Carlos Ruiz gave Guatemala a slither of hope just after the hour, but it was a comfortable win in the end for Trinidad, per ESPN FC's Tom Marshall:

The Soca Warriors will hope to pick up a second victory when they face Cuba in Phoenix on Sunday, while Guatemala face a tough challenge against Mexico.