Although most of the country has yet to see spring, soccer supporters in North America are already looking towards summer. On Thursday morning CONCACAF announced the group pairings for the Gold Cup.
In Group A, the U.S. Men’s National Team will take on the 2013 Gold Cup Runners-up Panama, Haiti, and either French Guiana or Honduras. French Guiana and Honduras will play a two-game playoff to determine the final spot in Group A later this month.
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While Panama will certainly catch the attention of many USMNT supporters, Haiti should pose a test for Jurgen Klinsmann’s side. It is a team made up of mostly European-based players who just finished in third-place in the Caribbean Cup.
If there is a Group of Death in the 2015 Gold Cup it is Group B where Canada will take on Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Jamaica. Canada has made tremendous strides over the past few years. But Bentito Floro’s side will have their hands full against Jamaica, who are the 2014 Caribbean Cup Champions, and El Salvador, who will certainly have the crowd behind them in their July 8th match in Los Angeles.
Perhaps the best news for Canada is that they will face their task, Costa Rica, at home in BMO Field in Toronto. This will be the first-time ever in the history of the Gold Cup that a match will take place in Toronto and in Canada. MLS Multiplex co-editor Marco D’Onofrio just recently wrote an excellent piece on the BMO Field matches that is definitely worth checking out.
In Group C, Mexico will take on Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba. Although EL Tri should have no problem making the knockout stage (the top two teams in each group automatically advance, as do the two best third-place teams) the other three contenders should provide for some interesting matches. In particular, look out for Guatemala led by Marco Pappa (Seattle Sounders) to surprise some people in this tournament.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on July 7th and will finish on July the 26th. Matches will be shown live on Fox and Univision in the United States and Sportsnet in Canada.
One thing to also keep in mind about Jamaica and Mexico: both teams will also be participating in the 2015 Copa America. That tournament is scheduled to begin on June 11th and the final will be on July the 4th. Although Jamaica is not expected to make it to the final (they will be in a group with Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay,) Mexico have finished in the top three in five of their eight appearances.
By FIFA law, clubs are not required to release Mexican or Jamaican players for the Gold Cup since neither country is a part of CONMEBOL. That may provide the Football Associations of countries some ability to avoid players having fatigue.
The winner of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, assuming it is not the USMNT, will go on to face the USMNT in a two-game playoff determine the region’s representative at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.
In addition to the Confederations Cup spot the top four teams outside of the USA, Mexico, and Costa Rica will qualify for a special play-off to determine the final two participants for the 2016 Copa America Centenario.
Schedule:
July 7, 2015 (Toyota Stadium – Frisco, TX)
5:00 PM – Group A: Panama vs. Haiti (UDN)
7:30 PM – Group A: USA vs. Honduras/French Guiana (UniMás)
July 8, 2015 (StubHub Center – Carson, CA)
8:00 PM – Group B: Costa Rica vs. Jamaica (UniMás)
10:30 PM – Group B: El Salvador vs. Canada (UniMás)
July 9, 2015 (Soldier Field – Chicago, IL)
7:00 PM – Group C: Trinidad and Tobago vs. Guatemala (UDN)
9:30 PM – Group C: Mexico vs. Cuba (UniMás)
July 10, 2015 (Gillette Stadium – Foxborough, MA)
6:00 PM – Group A: Honduras/French Guiana vs. Panama (UniMás)
8:30 PM – Group A: USA vs. Haiti (UniMás)
July 11, 2015 (BBVA Compass Stadium – Houston, TX)
6:30 PM – Group B: Jamaica vs. Canada (Univision)
9:00 PM – Group B: Costa Rica vs. El Salvador (Univision)
July 12, 2015 (University of Phoenix Stadium – Phoenix, AZ)
6:30 PM – Group C: Trinidad and Tobago vs. Cuba (Univision)
9:00 PM – Group C: Guatemala vs. Mexico (Univision)
July 13, 2015 (Sporting Park – Kansas City, MO)
7:00 PM – Group A: Haiti vs. Honduras/French Guiana (UDN)
9:30 PM – Group A: Panama vs. United States (UniMás)
July 14, 2015 (BMO Field – Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
6:00 PM – Group B: Jamaica vs. El Salvador (UniMás)
8:30 PM – Group B: Canada vs. Costa Rica (UniMás)
July 15, 2015 (Bank of America Stadium – Charlotte, NC)
6:00 PM – Group C: Cuba vs. Guatemala (UniMás)
8:30 PM – Group C: Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago (UniMás)
QUARTERFINALS: July 18, 2015 (M&T Bank Stadium – Baltimore, MD)
5:00 PM & 8:00 PM
Group A Winners vs. Group B/C Third Place Team (Univision)
Group A Second Place vs. Group B Winners (Univision)
QUARTERFINALS: July 19, 2015 (MetLife Stadium – East Rutherford, NJ)
4:30 PM & 7:30 PM
Group C Winners-Group A/B Third-Place Team (Univision)
Group C Second-Place-Group B Second Place*(Univision)
SEMIFINALS: July 22, 2015 (Georgia Dome – Atlanta, GA)
6:00PM and 9PM
3RD PLACE MATCH: July 25, 2015 (PPL Park – Philadelphia, PA)-4PM
FINAL: July 26, 2015 (Lincoln Financial Field – Philadelphia, PA)
7:30 PM Championship Final (Univision)