The 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup draw was held on Tuesday afternoon as the U.S. Men’s National Team learned which teams they will face in this summer’s tournament.
Panama, Martinique and either Haiti or Nicaragua will join the U.S. in Group B of the 2017 Gold Cup, which is set kick off July 7. The U.S. will take on Panama on July 8 in Nashville, Martinique on July 12 in Tampa Bay and Haiti or Nicaragua on July 15 in Cleveland.
Haiti and Nicaragua are set to face off in a two-leg playoff on March 24 and 28 that will determine which side completes the group.
If the U.S. were to advance from the group, they would move to a July 19 quarterfinal doubleheader in Philadelphia.
As for the other groups in this summer’s tournament, Group A is headlined by Costa Rica, who will take on Honduras, French Guiana and Canada, while Group C will feature Mexico, El Salvador, Jamaica and Curacao.
Here’s a closer look at the schedule for this summer’s group stage venues:
Friday, July 7– Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ
French Guiana v Canada
Honduras v Costa Rica
Saturday, July 8– Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
United States v Panama
Martinique v Haiti/Nicaragua
Sunday, July 9– Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA
Curacao v Jamaica
Mexico v El Salvador
Tuesday, July 11 – BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, TX
Costa Rica v Canada
Honduras v French Guiana
Wednesday, July 12– Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL
Panama v Haiti/Nicaragua
United States v Martinique
Thursday, July 13– Sports Authority Field, Denver, CO
El Salvador v Curacao
Mexico v Jamaica
Friday, July 14– Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX
Costa Rica v French Guiana
Canada v Honduras
Saturday, July 15– FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, OH
Panama v Martinique
Haiti/Nicaragua v United States
Sunday, July 16– Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
Jamaica v El Salvador
Curacao v Mexico
Wednesday, July 19– Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA*
QF1: 1A v 2B
QF2: 1B v 3A/C
Thursday, July 20– University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ*
QF3: 1C v 3A/B
QF4: 2C v 2A
Saturday, July 22– AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
Sunday, July 23– Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
SF2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4
Wednesday, July 26– Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
Final
Was Montserrat unavailable?
Panama, Martinique, & Haiti all have 1 thing in common they have speed all across the field. If Arena trots out a squad of “Old Folks” like he did during the January Camp even the lower level teams could cause us difficulties.
Hoping to see a number of our younger players get a real shot at minutes:
Horvath, Morris, Green, Arriola, Gooch, Hyndmann, Acosta, CCV, Miazga, Manneh,
Some of the much needed depth/fringe options:
Villafana, Lletget, Nagbe, Williams/Morrales
What I don’t want to see are a bunch of the “Old Farts” again. We’ve seen what guys like….
Marshall, Evans, Beckerman, Jones, Dempsey, Howard, Wondo…bring and there is no need to see them in this Gold Cup.
The difference is that no matter who Bruce plays, the squad will have structure and understanding on their side – probably more so than any other team in the GC . Even if he does field a sub par squad, he knows how to get the job done in this region.
2011 Gold Cup group round would be my riposte: Canada W 2-0, Panama L 1-2, Guadeloupe W 1-0. On paper, in theory, cakewalk. In practice, nail biter because we were too slow and technical. Found their feet for a couple knockouts and then Mexico got Bradley fired 4-2. If we don’t show up with enough athleticism this is potentially less fun than it looks.
Arena has hinted he will go experimental and perhaps young, but the draw may force it in the direction of some athletes.