Pavlos Laguretos

THE PLAY: REGULATION Both Teams to Score (-103)

Haiti vs Saudi Arabia
Gold Cup, Sunday, 9:15pm ET

Play: Both Teams to Score
Odds at Time of Release: -103
Line Parameter: Line good to -120

Haiti are +237 underdogs here, the Draw is at +217, and Saudi Arabia are +102 favourites, with the Asian Spread set at 0.25 goals and the Asian Total set at 2.25.

Books have USA as the big favourites to win the Group at -280, Saudi Arabia are the 2nd favourites at +225, while both Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago are the big underdogs at +5000 each.

This will be the 4th consecutive Gold Cup for Haiti, who reached the semi-finals in 2019, but were eliminated in the group stage in both previous editions in 2021 and in 2023.

In 2019 they actually topped their group with 3 wins, scoring twice in all 3, then eliminated Canada by 3-2 in the quarter-finals and even forced a draw in the semi-finals against Mexico, losing 1-0 in the extra time.

In 2021 they finished 3rd in the group (W1 D0 L2), losing 1-0 to USA, 4-1 to Canada and beating Martinique by 2-1, putting a good amount of shots in all 3 matches (10/10/17).

In 2023 where they did finish at the bottom of their group (Mexico, Qatar, Honduras), but did beat Qatar by 2-1 in the opener, lost 3-1 to Mexico and even took the lead in Game 3 against Honduras but eventually lost). All 3 group matches had Both Teams to Score & Over 2.5 Goals, including the 2-1 win against Qatar, the invitees of that tournament. Now they are starting off against another invited team, Saudi Arabia, who failed to qualify directly to the 2026 World Cup as they finished 3rd in the Qualifiers and now have to play an extra round of qualifiers.

Saudi Arabia did poorly on the road in a group that did have Japan and Australia, but also had Indonesia, Bahrain and China so they didn't capitalize on the fact that three of these teams were, on paper, worse than them, as also suggested by the FIFA rankings. They will now come here looking to have some fun in the Gold Cup, in a group that they could theoretically qualify from, but it ain't gonna be easy.

Haiti have a solid squad with some good players up front, Lionel Messi's teammate Fafa Picault and AEK Athens' forward Frantdzy Pierrot, along with several players who play in the Dutch, Belgian and Ecuadorian leagues, with a good degree of experience.

I don't agree with Saudi Arabia's favouritism in this spot, I think Haiti have the potential to give them a run for their money and for a side bet I am looking at Haiti +0.75 (-110), which is a split line between Haiti +1 and Haiti +0.5. This means that we get paid if Haiti win, if it's a Draw, and we get half a push and half a loss if they lose by exactly 1.

For Totals, I think the 2.25 is a tricky line, as Saudi Arabia were quite constipated in their away matches in the World Cup Qualifiers, but I feel that Haiti can score here, and this doesn't strike me as a 1-0 win for either side, so I think we will see at least two goals here, so the Over 2.25 might be the way to go in terms of totals.

But I do like Both Teams to Score, again, I think Haiti can score here and Saudi Arabia do have some firepower up front.

Take 2% on Both Teams to Score (-103), line good to -120