The road to the Concacaf Gold Cup final is set as the groups were drawn on Thursday, with the United States being placed in Group D alongside Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti. Kicking off on June 14 and running until July 6 with the final at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, this will be a slightly different Gold Cup than in years past. The United States hasn’t always sent its top team to the tournament but that could change following a poor Concacaf Nations League Finals with new coach Mauricio Pochettino at the helm.
With the Gold Cup taking place one year prior to the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, it’s the final chance that the three nations will have to play competitive matches before the World Cup kicks off. As host nation, the U.S. won’t be involved in Concacaf World Cup qualifying, which raises the stakes of this Gold Cup tournament.
This tournament will also see games take place in Canada alongside the United States with Vancouver being among the host cities for the first time. The other venues will be in the United States, with the tournament being split into regions from the Midwest to the West Coast, as it will run alongside the FIFA Club World Cup for some of the summer.
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The United States’ disappointment at the Nations League, won by Mexico, is what could lead to them sending players like Christian Pulisic to the Gold Cup. The time spent with this squad would be the longest Pochettino has had with the senior team since he took the job. With the USMNT in need of finding their identity under the Argentine tactician, this is a good tournament to work on that while building positive momentum for the World Cup. With Saudi Arabia being an invited guest for the tournament, the USMNT will have formidable opposition but let’s see how the groups shook out.
Concacaf Gold Cup Groups
- Group A: Mexico, Costa Rica, Suriname, Dominican Republic
- Group B: Canada, Honduras, El Salvador, Curacao
- Group C: Panama, Jamaica, Guatemala, Guadeloupe
- Group D: United States, Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago, Saudi Arabia
The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout stage with a chance at lifting the Gold Cup championship. Mexico is the current reigning champion with the United States last winning the tournament in 2021. Memories of Trinidad & Tobago knocking them out of the running for the 2018 World Cup will still loom following the draw. The Americans will also get to face a Saudi Arabia side that engineered one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history, defeating eventual champions Argentina at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This tournament will be a great chance for Pochettino to move past those memories.
While there’s no true group of death, Mexico being drawn alongside an improving Suriname side could cause some upsets if El Tri aren’t careful. All three of the United States, Mexico and Canada will be favored to win their respective groups but with strong dual-national recruitment, Concacaf sides are rapidly improving so there won’t be any easy fixtures. All three teams will enter this tournament feeling like they could lift the cup in Houston.
Key dates
- Group Stage: June 14 – 24
- Quarter finals: June 28 – 29
- Semi finals: July 2
- Final: July 6
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