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Gold Cup action began Monday evening with the top countries in North America competing against each other for the top cup in CONCACAF play. Dynamo fans get the opportunity to cheer on the USA as they try to win for the seventh time in cup history, however both El Salvador and Honduras have Dynamo players on their squads for Dynamonians to root for as well.
El Salvador - Darwin Ceren
El Salvador was able to grind out a close 1-0 victory over Curacao. Striker Nelson Bonilla was able to put in a quality strike past Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room right before halftime and that lead held throughout the second half.
Darwin Ceren played the entire match and set the tone for La Selecta. He controlled the right side of the field and put in some quality crosses in the box. Ceren’s brother, Oscar Ceren, helped Darwin control that side as well as had the assist on the game-winning goal. El Salvador will look to continue their winning ways against Jamaica on Friday in Houston.
Honduras - Alberth Elis, Maynor Figueroa, Romell Quioto
The adopted country of Dynamo fans remains to be Honduras as once again they’ve brought multiple Orangemen to the Gold Cup. Los Catrachos started the Gold Cup in a virtual away game vs Jamaica in Jamaica. The Reggae Boys used this home field advantage to win an exciting 3-2 match. Jamaica took a 2-0 lead into halftime, and when Honduras finally scored to make it close, Jamaica immediately scored again. That third goal opened up the lead once again and held that lead for the rest of the game until a 92nd minute garbage time goal.
Alberth Elis did what the black panther usually does, by being a high impact player. Eis was virtually all over the field and arguably Honduras’ best player on the field. The first Honduras goal started with Elis stealing the ball and leading the charge toward goal before setting up Choco Lozano.
Romell Quioto didn’t get much of a chance to provide offense as he was stifled by Jamaica’s athletic defense throughout the match, and was eventually take out of the game. Honduras’ Captain Figueroa played all 90, however did not make much of an impact throughout the game. All three will hope to see a better result against a lesser opponent this Friday in Houston.