By RYAN TOLMICH
The U.S. Men’s National Team faces a tough road through this summer’s Gold Cup.
CONCACAF announced the locations and groupings for this summer’s tournament, with the U.S. Men’s National Team drawn into a group with Panama, Haiti and the winner of Honduras and French Guiana. The USMNT will open the tournament July 7 in Frisco, TX against the winner of that play-in game on July 7 before taking on Haiti on July 10 at Gillette Stadium. The U.S. will round out the group stage July 13 against Panama in Kansas City.
If, as expected, Honduras qualifies for the Gold Cup, the Americans will be facing a potentially tricky group. They will still be expected to advance, but it can certainly be argued the U.S. will be facing the toughest group in the draw.
In addition, CONCACAF revealed that the tournament’s finale will be played at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on July 26, while the third place game will be played at PPL Park the day before.
In total, the tournament will be played in thirteen cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Toronto. The tournament’ quarterfinals will be played in Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium and New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, on Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19, respectively, before the semifinals are played at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome on July 22.
“We are anticipating an exceptional Gold Cup in 2015, with a grand finale weekend to be played right here in Philadelphia, a city with a special affinity for the world’s game,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “The sport has never been more popular throughout the Confederation, and this year’s Gold Cup – the crown jewel of regional soccer – will certainly demonstrate like never before our region’s passion for the game.”
Check out the full groupings and schedule below:
2015 CONCACAF GOLD CUP
GROUP A: USA, Panama, Haiti, Winner Play-in Series (Honduras or French Guiana)
GROUP B: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Canada, Jamaica
GROUP C: México, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba
July 7, 2015
Toyota Stadium (Dallas, TX)
5:00 PM Panama vs. Haiti (FOX Sports 2/UDN)
7:30 PM USA vs. Honduras/French Guiana (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)
July 8, 2015
StubHub Center (Los Angeles, CA)
8:00 PM Costa Rica vs. Jamaica (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)
10:30 PM El Salvador vs. Canada (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)
July 9, 2015
Soldier Field (Chicago, IL)
7:00 PM Trinidad and Tobago vs. Guatemala (FOX Sports 2/UDN)
9:30 PM Mexico vs. Cuba (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)
July 10, 2015
Gillette Stadium (Boston, MA)
6:00 PM Honduras/French Guiana vs. Panama (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)
8:30 PM USA vs. Haiti (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)
July 11, 2015
BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)
6:30 PM Jamaica vs. Canada (FOX Sports 2/Univision)
9:00 PM Costa Rica vs. El Salvador (FOX Sports 2/Univision)
July 12, 2015
University of Phoenix Stadium (Phoenix, AZ)
6:30 PM Trinidad and Tobago vs. Cuba (FOX Sports 2/Univision)
9:00 PM Guatemala vs. Mexico (FOX Sports 2/Univision)
July 13, 2015
Sporting Park (Kansas City, MO)
7:00 PM Haiti vs. Honduras/French Guiana (FOX Sports 1/UDN)
9:30 PM Panama vs. United States (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)
July 14, 2015
BMO Field (Toronto, CAN)
6:00 PM Jamaica vs. El Salvador (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)
8:30 PM Canada vs. Costa Rica (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)
July 15, 2015
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC)
6:00 PM Cuba vs. Guatemala (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)
8:30 PM Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)
July 18, 2015
M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, MD)
5:00 PM & 8:00 PM
1A vs. 3B/C* (FOX/Univision)
2A vs. 1B*(FOX Sports 2/Univision)
July 19, 2015
Met Life Stadium (New York, NY)
4:30 PM & 7:30 PM
1C-3A/B*(FOX Sports 1/Univision)
2C-2B*(FOX Sports 1/Univision)
July 22, 2015
Georgia Dome (Atlanta, GA)
6:00 PM SF 1* (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)
9:00 PM SF 2* (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)
July 25, 2015
PPL Park (Philadelphia, PA)
4:00 PM 3rd Place (FOX Sports 2/Univision)
July 26, 2015
Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)
7:30 PM Championship Final (FOX Sports 1/Univision)