Grenada vs Qatar
BBVA Compass Stadium is the venue as Grenada and Qatar continue their 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup journey.
Grenada’s hopes of making it out of the Gold Cup group stage for the first time in three tournament appearances are hanging by a thread following a 4-0 thrashing to Honduras on Matchday 1. Alarmingly, Honduras inflicted a third consecutive defeat on the ‘Spice Boys’ in all competitions, a run that saw Grenada score just once and concede seven goals in return. Since being held to a goalless draw to Saint Kitts and Nevis in the CONCACAF Nations League back in November 2019, none of Grenada’s subsequent six matches in all competitions have ended level (W2, L4). Four of the six results (win/loss) in that sequence yielded a full-time margin of a single goal, with the winner on the day benefiting from breaking the deadlock on five occasions.
On the other hand, Qatar’s maiden Gold Cup appearance started with a thrilling 3-3 draw with Panama in their Group D curtain-raiser, will all six goals in that match coming beyond half-time. Though Matchday 1 stalemate brought Qatar’s four-match winning streak to a halt, the reigning Asian Cup titleholders head into proceedings on the back of an intimidating nine-game unbeaten streak (W7, D2). The clean-sheet theme was of the utmost importance to the ‘Maroon’ across that spread of fixtures, with all but two of their seven wins yielding a shutout. Taking only competitive internationals into account, Félix Sánchez’s men are unbeaten in four in a row (W3, D1) since going down 1-0 to Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup of Nations back in December 2019.