Saturday marks the penultimate day of group play in the 2017 Gold Cup, with four teams in Group B vying to determine which ones will make it to the knockout phase, which begins July 19.Three teams have already secured a spot in the quarterfinals after Friday's Group A action. Costa Rica won the group with a 2-1-0 record and seven points after a 3-0 shutout against French Guiana.The United States is in the driver seat to win Group B with a matchup against winless Nicaragua. Panama can steal the top spot with a victory over Martinique, though that's more complicated because it will come down to goals scored and goal differential.Here are the final scores from Saturday's Group B fixtures:Panama def. Martinique, 3-0United States def. Nicaragua, 3-0Here are the updated group standings after Saturday's fixtures:Group A1. Costa Rica (2-1-0, 7 points)*2. Canada (1-2-0, 5 points)*3. Honduras (1-1-1, 4 points)*4. French Guiana (0-0-3, 0 points)Group B1. United States (2-1-0, 7 points)*2. Panama (2-1-0, 7 points)*3. Martinique (1-0-2, 3 points)4. Nicaragua (0-0-3, 0 points)Group C1. Mexico (1-1-0, 4 points)2. Jamaica (1-1-0, 4 points)3. El Salvador (1-0-1, 3 points)4. Curacao (0-0-2, 0 points)*Advanced to knockout phaseUSA 3, Nicaragua 0After Panama's three-goal win over Martinique earlier in the day, Team USA was able to steal the top spot in Group B with its own 3-0 victory against Nicaragua.The United States needed an impressive performance after nearly blowing its last game against Martinique on Wednesday. With the exception of two missed penalty kicks, there was a lot to like about the Americans responded on Saturday.Joe Corona got the scoring started for the United States with a terrific goal in the 36th minute in which he danced around three different Nicaragua defenders.Clinging to a 1-0 lead coming out for the second half,Kelyn Rowe and Matt Miazga added insurance with their first-career goals as members of the United States national team.Even though the U.S. knew coming into this matchup it was going to the knockout phase, winning Group B does set the team up for a game against a third-place team in the quarterfinals.Team USA is looking for redemption in this year's Gold Cup after losing in the semifinals to Jamaica two years ago. Group play wasn't always easy but featured more highs than lows for the team to build upon.Panama 3, Martinique 0Panama put itself in the top spot of Group B with an impressive 3-0 victory over Martinique that moved its overall record to 2-1-0 and its goal differential to plus-four. It also secured a spot in the knockout phase.Martinique did a solid job of keeping things close early. Panama didn't get on the board until the 44th minute, when Michael Murillo connected on a header that fooled Martinique goalie Kevin Olimpa:The score would remain 1-0 until the 60th minute, when Abdiel Arroyo deflected the ball past Olimpa. Panama padded its lead seven minutes later thanks to Gabriel Torres' goal.After starting group play with a tie against the United States, Panama has responded with two straight wins. This marks the seventh straight Gold Cup in which Panama has reached the knockout phase, and the nation will be looking to improve upon its third-place finish last year.Martinique still has an outside shot at reaching the next round, depending on how things play out among the third-place finisher in Group C with El Salvador, Jamaica and Mexico all fighting for spots in the knockout phase.
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