the 1H Draw at +101 is worth a shot

If Mexico is able to get past Jamaica in Sunday's Gold Cup semifinal, much will be written and made of the team's return to Levi's Stadium in Northern California.

It was there just more than a year ago that Juan Carlos Osorio looked on as his Mexico team was crushed 7-0 in a Copa America Centenario quarterfinal against Chile and is also where the Gold Cup final will take place Wednesday.

Critics said Osorio didn't learn from that game after his side again took a lopsided loss in its first knockout game at this summer's biggest tournament, the Confederations Cup, a 4-1 defeat to eventual champion Germany. But the loss tortured Osorio. After Mexico decided to retain him as coach, he sought advice from some of his coaching heroes and went through a personal process he still hasn't spoke much about.

"We’ve continued, even with losses that have tormented me for a while, but the scars stay there," Osorio said at a news conference Saturday. "We’ve gotten past that and the group has won more than it has lost. We’re very hopeful in continuing to grow."

Now the game has given Mexico a unique opportunity — to show it has learned its lesson in the same tournament. While El Tri come into Sunday's semifinal against the Reggae Boyz undefeated, the second group match against that same opposition was the low point in what's been an uninspiring tournament.

Jamaica's defense suffocated Mexico, with Theodore Whitmore electing to sit back and send his team on only a few forays forwards. While his center backs Damion Lowe and Jermaine Taylor thrived thanks to Mexico's lack of a dangerous central presence, fullbacks Kemar Lawrence and Alvas Powell kept El Tri's wingers from cutting inside when inverted or crossing when playing on their natural sides. With one of the region's top goalkeepers in Andre Blake behind that unit, there's little reason to expect "Tappa" to have his team come out of its shell at the Rose Bowl.

Even so, Osorio has insisted that his team will be able to beat Jamaica's bunker this time, able to surge into the final third and find goals. An early breakthrough from Rodolfo Pizarro against Honduras hinted at success in the final third that hasn't been present for Mexico in this tournament, but after the third-minute tally it was back to more of the same. Mexico has found chances in the quarterfinal but failed to put them away.

Still, Osorio, assistant coach Luis Pompilio Paez and the rest of the staff have stayed resolute in their approach and have remained positive with the team, even with doubts likely to creep in ahead of the rematch. The team practiced penalty kicks, as you'd expect a coach as detailed as Osorio to have his side do ahead of a game that could be decided from the spot. But, of course, that drew criticsm from many that he didn't trust his team to get the result in regulation.

Mexico is a heavy fav at -173. I'll stay with the parlay. For entertainment only:

Exact score 2-1 Mex +800
BTTS +155

i'm on the bench here, up to 215 & they won't budge off of 2 for the total
GL

USA took care of business against Costa Rica in the semifinals, but Jamaica pulled off a huge upset over Mexico. Now, USA will face Jamaica in the 2017 Gold Cup Final on Wednesday, July 26th at 9:30 pm ET. Here’s a look at how the game shapes up.

3-way opening lines from Pinnacle:
USA -189
Draw +293
Jamaica +760
Total 2 (o-109, u-102)

Pinnacle is the gold standard when it comes to soccer betting, usually offering the best lines and highest limits. For example, here’s a look at where SIA opened odds for the 3-way moneyline:
USA -210
Draw +275
Jamaica +631

At SIA, USA are bigger favorites but the draw and Jamaica are smaller underdogs. Clearly if you’re betting on any of the three moneylines, Pinnacle is the better option. If you don’t have the luxury of having an account at Pinnacle, this simply highlights the importance of shopping around the market for a better line. You’ll almost always find one.

In terms of the market, 34% of bettors are taking the Jamaica moneyline with 16% on the Draw. Early betting has clearly been pretty heavy on Jamaica as their odds to win are +700 at Bookmaker. We’d expect the majority of tickets to take USA since they’re -185 favorites, but they’re getting just half of early betting tickets.

Again, this game has a bit of a revenge factor for the USA. They were bounced in the 2015 Gold Cup semifinals by Jamaica, so they’ve got the 2017 Gold Cup Final to make amends. It certainly helps that the USA are playing at home, which is why they’re now clear favorites to lift the cup.
Jamaica were +3500 before the tournament and now +331 heading into the final. USA were available at +160 before the tournament but are now huge -450 favorites.

All comes down to how Jamaica plays tactically and whether they take the approach as they did against Mexico in the group stages or how they played Mexico in the semifinals. Obviously I am hoping for the second one!! A good clue will be if Owayne Gordon is in the starting 11 for Jamaica. USA should be good for at least one goal Im thinking.

I think USA does enough to win, just enough. Jamaica's keeper is the best in CONCACAF, so I look for a low scoring affair.

U2 -102
USA 1 Jamaica 0 +390

Over for me