Gold Cup 2015: Quarter-Finals Fixtures, Final Group Tables and More

Pre-tournament favourites Mexico had to settle for second place in Group C of the 2015 Gold Cup after they drew 4-4 with Trinidad and Tobago in Charlotte on Wednesday.

El Tri were cruising at 2-0 up in the second half, but three quick-fire Trinidad goals sparked an action-packed end to the match, and Mexico had to settle for the draw in the end.

Cuba are the surprise quarter-finalists, as they booked their last-eight spot on Wednesday as one of the best third-place finishers following their 1-0 victory over Guatemala.

Here are the final group standings from the CONCACAF tournament, along with the quarter-final fixtures.

Position	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GD	P
Group A
1	United States	3	2	1	0	2	7
2	Haiti	3	1	1	1	0	4
3	Panama	3	0	3	0	0	3
4	Honduras	3	0	1	2	-2	1
Group B
1	Jamaica	3	2	1	0	2	7
2	Costa Rica	3	0	3	0	0	3
3	El Salvador	3	0	2	1	-1	2
4	Canada	3	0	2	1	-1	2
Group C
1	Trinidad and Tobago	3	2	1	0	4	7
2	Mexico	3	1	2	0	6	5
3	Cuba	3	1	0	2	-7	3
4	Guatemala	3	0	1	2	-3	1

Date	Time (ET/BST)	Fixture	TV Info (US/UK)
Saturday, July 18	5 p.m./10 p.m.	USA vs. Cuba	FOX Sports 2/BT Sport 2
Saturday, July 18	8 p.m./1 a.m.	Haiti vs. Jamaica	FOX Sports 2/BT Sport 2
Sunday, July 19	4:30 p.m./9:30 p.m.	Trinidad vs. Panama	FOX Sports 1/BT Sport 2
Sunday, July 19	7:30 p.m./12:30 a.m.	Mexico vs. Costa Rica	FOX Sports 1/BT Sport 2

USA, Mexico Remain Favourites 

Ahead of the competition, hosts and defending champions USA were favourites along with El Tri, and the pair still head the betting with the quarter-final fixtures set.

However, the U.S. men's national soccer team are now the outright favourites, as their last-eight clash is significantly easier than Mexico's, and they have shown better form.

Miguel Herrera's side started the competition well with a 6-0 drubbing of an under-strength Cuba, but a 0-0 draw with Guatemala proved their impressive attacking unit were not yet firing on all cylinders.

They stormed back to score four against Trinidad, but the Soca Warriors exposed Mexico's defense as one that is remarkably fragile.

Mexico will need to improve against Costa Rica, and they will likely be without forward Giovani dos Santos, per ESPN Tri:

La Sele have not had the best of times at the Gold Cup themselves, picking up three draws in Group B with Jamaica, Canada and El Salvador.

But as they proved at last year's World Cup in Brazil—when they made it to the quarter-final stage—they are very adept at tournament football and will surely improve for the first knockout round.

Since Mexico and Costa Rica are 40th and 41st, respectively, in FIFA's rankings, there is very little to choose between them.

It is a shame that one will be going home at the last-eight stage, but poor group performances from the pair have brought them together. El Tri have the firepower to claim victory over Costa Rica, but failure to tighten up the defence will almost certainly see their Gold Cup dream come to an end on Sunday.

Team USA are in the much better position with their matchup against Cuba in the quarter-finals, thus making them the clear favourites to go on and win the tournament, per ESPN's Paul Carr:

Cuba have overcome defections, visa issues and opening losses of 6-0 and 2-0 to make the quarter-finals, but they will surely go no further.

USA's campaign thus far has been serene, if unspectacular. They beat Honduras and Haiti ahead of a final draw with Panama, but they have yet to produce a complete performance.

However, tournaments cannot be won in the group stages, and Jurgen Klinsmann's side have done exactly what was needed thus far—much like the USWNT ahead of their recent Women's World Cup win, per football writer Cristian Nyari:

Patience will be necessary from the USA in their quarter-final, as Cuba will likely set up to frustrate their more illustrious opposition.

However, there is more than enough quality in the U.S. side for them to ease to victory over Cuba and get one step closer to defending their title on home soil.