Gold Cup a celebration of football – Montagliani

MIAMI, Florida, (CMC):

Organisers Concacaf on Thursday announced the full schedule for this year’s Gold Cup, which will mark the zenith of the confederation’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

The main showpiece will run from July 10 to August 1 but will be preceded by a new preliminary round qualifying tournament, which will run from July 2 - 6, and determine the last three spots in the opening group stage.

Eleven stadiums across the United States will host the 16th edition of the tournament, which will conclude with a grand final at the newly-built US$2 billion Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, which was opened last year.

“We are extremely pleased to confirm the schedule and venues for this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup, which promises to be a celebration of football in our great region,” said Concacaf president Victor Montagliani.

“This is Concacaf’s 60th anniversary year and we look forward with great anticipation to watching the best men’s national teams in our confederation compete for the Gold Cup title.

“With an exciting new format and the prospect of welcoming passionate fans to the stadiums for these compelling match-ups, I can’t wait for the football to begin on July 2nd and to crown a champion in Las Vegas on August 1st.”

15 CONFEDERATION TEAMS

This year, AFC Asian Cup Champions Qatar will participate in the tournament as the guest nation, joining the other 15 confederation teams, which earned qualification.

Caribbean side Curacao will raise the curtain on the championship when they clash with Central American nation El Salvador at the Toyota Stadium in Dallas in a Group-A fixture while in the headliner, reigning champions Mexico take on a yet-to-be determined qualifier from the preliminaries at the AT&T Stadium also in Texas, also in Group A.

French Caribbean side Martinique will feature in Group B, alongside 2019 losing finalists United States and Canada, along with a yet-to-be determined qualifier.

Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz, losing finalists in 2015 and 2017, will clash with Costa Rica and Suriname along with another qualifier in Group C, while Group D will see Grenada take on Honduras, Panama and Qatar.

Several Caribbean sides, including embattled Trinidad and Tobago, will be among 12 nations battling in the preliminaries at the DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale for the three remaining spots in the main draw.

FULL SCHEDULE:

Preliminaries

(Round one)

July 2 – DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, FL

4:30 pm M1: Haiti vs St Vincent and the Grenadines

7:00 pm M6: Bermuda vs Barbados

9:30 pm M3: Trinidad and Tobago vs Montserrat

July 3 – DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, FL

4:30 pm M5: Guadeloupe vs Bahamas

7:00 pm M4: Cuba vs French Guiana

9:30 pm M2: Guatemala vs Guyana

July 6 – DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, FL

(Round Two)

4:30 pm M9: Winner Prelims 3 vs Winner Prelims 4

7:00 pm M7: Winner Prelims 1 vs Winner Prelims 6

9:30 pm M8: Winner Prelims 2 vs Winner Prelims 5

(Main draw)

July 10 – Dallas Metropolitan Area (Group A)

5:00 pm El Salvador vs Curaçao (Toyota Stadium)

10:00 pm Mexico vs Winner Prelims 9 (AT&T Stadium)

July 11 – Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, KS (Group B)

6:30 pm Canada vs Martinique

8:30 pm USA vs Winner Prelims 7

July 12 – Exploria Stadium, Orlando, FL (Group C)

6:30 pm Jamaica vs Suriname

9:00 pm Costa Rica vs Winner Prelims 8

July 13 – BBVA Stadium, Houston, TX (Group D)

7:00 pm Qatar vs Panama

9:00 pm Honduras vs Grenada

July 14 – Dallas Metropolitan Area (Group A)

7:30 pm Winner Prelims 9 vs El Salvador (Toyota Stadium)

9:30 pm Curaçao vs Mexico (Cotton Bowl Stadium)

July 15 – Children’s Mercy Park, Kansas City, KS (Group B)

7:30 pm Winner Prelims 7 vs Canada

9:30 pm Martinique vs USA

July 16 – Exploria Stadium, Orlando, FL (Group C)

4:30 pm Winner Prelims 8 vs Jamaica

8:30 pm Suriname vs Costa Rica

July 17 – BBVA Stadium, Houston, TX (Group D)

7:30 pm Grenada vs Qatar

9:30 pm Panama vs Honduras

July 18 – Groups A and B

5:00 pm Martinique vs Winner Prelims 7 (Toyota Stadium)

5:00 pm USA vs Canada (Children’s Mercy Park)

10:00 pm Mexico vs El Salvador (Cotton Bowl Stadium)

10:00 pm Curaçao vs Winner Prelims 9 (Toyota Stadium)

July 20 – Groups C and D

7:00 pm Costa Rica vs Jamaica (Exploria Stadium)

7:00 pm Suriname vs Winner Prelims 8 (BBVA Stadium)

9:00 pm Panama vs Grenada (Exploria Stadium)

9:00 pm Honduras vs Qatar (BBVA Stadium)

July 24 – State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ (Quarter-finals)

7:30 pm QF1: 1D vs 2A

8:00 pm QF2: 1A vs 2D

July 25 – AT&T Stadium, Arlington TX (Quarter-finals)

7:00 pm QF3: 1C vs 2B

9:30 pm QF4: 1B vs 2C

July 29 – Q2 Stadium, Austin, TX and NRG Stadium, Houston, TX (Semi-finals)

7:30 pm SF1: Winner QF1 (1D or 2A) vs Winner QF4 (1B or 2C)

10:00 pm SF2: Winner QF2 (1A or 2D) vs Winner QF3 (1C or 2B)

Sunday, August 1 – Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV (Final)

8:30 pm Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2