Semis fill Cup with intrigue
Chicago is the future casa of Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Mexico's counter to David Beckham. The city's massive Mexican population is the reason the Chicago Fire have signed Blanco for the remainder of the MLS season and also the target audience of the Gold Cup this week.
If all goes according to form, the Gold Cup's dream teams, the United States and Mexico, will meet in the final Sunday. But first, there are tonight's potentially nightmarish semifinals -- US-Canada (7 o'clock) and Mexico-Guadeloupe (10) -- at Soldier Field. Organizers are betting against the long shot of a Canada-Guadeloupe final, which would attract a feeble Francophone following.
The US has barged through the tournament with four successive wins, displaying few weaknesses until the late going of a 2-1 win over Panama in the quarterfinals, when it struggled to hold on with a man advantage. Canada and Mexico are 3-1 in the event, the Canadians falling to Guadeloupe (2-1) and the Mexicans losing to Honduras (2-1) as Blanco was red-carded early in the second half. Guadeloupe has far exceeded expectations, upsetting Honduras (2-1) in the quarterfinals.
For Mexico and the US, the goal is a Gold Cup title, which means qualification for the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa. Canada planned the tournament as preparation for World Cup qualifying, but has performed well enough to take on the spoiler's role. Guadeloupe, a French overseas department, is ineligible for the Confederations Cup.
The US has a 12-match (6-0-6) unbeaten streak and six successive shutouts against Canada since 1985. And the US has a nine-match (8-0-1) undefeated streak this year.
But the US is a team in transition. Though the Americans are undefeated since Bob Bradley was named coach this year, this late tournament run is the first time they are in an elimination situation. The US passed the test against Panama, but the Canaleros were performing without three suspended starters and lost another to a red card in the 76th minute.
Canada is at full strength and is not as likely to self-destruct. The Canadian team includes players who are performing in 11 countries, including several in the MLS.
The Canadians have performed well in the Gold Cup, winning the tournament in 2000 and reaching the semifinals in 2002 (a penalty-kick defeat to the US). Canada has an effective combination of players, starters such as Ante Jazic (Los Angeles Galaxy) and Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad (Houston Dynamo) are familiar with the US, and Julian de Guzman (Deportivo La Coruna) and Paul Stalteri (Tottenham Hotspur) have extensive European experience.
The US formula has been to short-circuit the opposition with aggressive midfield play, then rely on DaMarcus Beasley, Clint Dempsey, and Landon Donovan to make the difference.
Meanwhile, Mexico had difficulty finding its way offensively until late in regulation time in a 1-0 overtime win over Costa Rica in the quarterfinals in Houston. Blanco and Adolfo "Bofo" Bautista sparked the Tricolores off the bench, Jared Borgetti scoring in the 97th minute, and the Ticos finishing with eight players.
But Mexico and the US are just getting warmed up, since both are entered in the Copa America in Venezuela, which begins two days after the Gold Cup. Mexico meets Brazil Wednesday and the US plays Argentina Thursday in their Copa America openers ; if they struggle against Guadeloupe and Canada, they could be in deep trouble in Venezuela.
Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com. 
