FRISCO – North Texas SC midfielder Bicou Bissainthe and Haiti will celebrate a historic day but also face a tough task facing regional giants Mexico in the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals on July 2. The game will kickoff from State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., at 9 PM and will be broadcasted on FS1 in English and Univision en Español.
First Time Ever
Haiti will make its very first semifinal appearance in the Gold Cup era after a shock comeback win against Canada last week. Among the 23 players that have made history is North Texas SC’s own Bicou Bissainthe.
The 20-year-old became the club’s first player in team history to represent his country at the senior international level when he came on as a substitute in the 79th minute against Costa Rica in Haiti’s third group stage match. He took the field once again in stoppage time of their heart-stopping clash with Canada, running on to mark keeper Milan Borjan who had come off his line to be in the crosshairs for The Canucks’ last-second free kick.
Haiti rallied in the second half of that game, coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and solidifying its place among Concacaf’s elite in the last four.
“It’s a lot of motivation,” Bissainthe said after making his senior debut. “Our country is poor, there are many problems, so every time we play, we try to make the people happy because football is the only thing that makes people happy in Haiti right now.”
Team Overview
Before the upset against Canada, Haiti was already having a phenomenal tournament after topping its group for the first time in competition history.
Haiti was a perfect 3/3 in the 2019 edition’s group stage, defeating Bermuda 2-1 and eliminating Nicaragua with a 2-0 win before upsetting Group B front runners Costa Rica 2-1.
Mexico achieved the same in Group A, something expected out of the 7x Gold Cup champs. El Tri crushed Cuba 7-0 before winning in much closer fashion against Canada, 3-1, Martinique, 3-2 and Costa Rica via penalty shootout in the quarterfinals.
In terms of offense, Mexico (14) beats Haiti (9) with more goals scored, however, defensively, the teams are evenly matched with both allowing four goals all tournament.
Mexico has the edge over Haiti historically with a 7-1-3 record against the Caribbean island.
Players to Watch
Haiti’s most dangerous forward is Duckens Nazon, who has netted twice so far this tournament and had the first goal as well as assisted the third in the win over Canada.
Meanwhile, Mexico have LA Galaxy forward Uriel Antuna and Wolverhampton’s Raul Jimenez, who have both netted four times each for El Tri. Jimenez also leads the tournament in shots with 24.
Both goalkeepers will also be key. Haiti’s Johny Placide has had a great tournament, boasting a .750 save percentage so far. Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa just has him beat with a .778 save percentage and a game-clinching penalty save against Costa Rica in the last match.
