CONCACAF has held the draw and has announced when and where games will be played in the 2013 Gold Cup, which is the regional championship for senior men’s national teams for North and Central America and Caribbean teams.
The tournament is being held in the United States with games scheduled across the nation in 13 cities.
The U.S. was drawn into Group C with Costa Rica, Belize and Cuba. The U.S. opens on July 9 at JELD-WEN Field in Portland. The second U.S. game is July 13 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City against Cuba.
The final U.S. group game against Belize is set for July 16 in Hartford, CT, at Rentschler Field. All play dates will feature doubleheaders with all four group teams involved.
The top two teams in each group, plus the best two third-place finishers, will advance to the quarterfinals.
Miami, Atlanta and Baltimore are on the schedule for doubleheaders.
Miami’s Sun Life Stadium will host a July 12 doubleheader for teams in Group B. Trinidad & Tobago will play Haiti in the first game, followed by Honduras against El Salvador.
Group A, which includes Mexico, Canada, Panama and Martinique will play in Pasadena’s Rose Bowl, Seattle and Mile High Stadium in Denver, Co.
Both Atlanta and Baltimore will host quarterfinal matches. The Atlanta venue is the Georgia Dome, while the Baltimore doubleheader is set for M&T Bank Stadium.
If the U.S. finishes first in Group C, their quarterfinal match will be played in Baltimore.
The semifinals are set for July 24 at Cowboys Stadium. The championship match will be played Sunday, July 28 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
“We look forward to a successful tournament and an exciting 2013 Gold Cup final right here at Soldier Field,” said CONCACAF President, Jeffrey Webb. “We also expect yet another competition fueled by passionate fans brought together in a celebration that will hopefully inspire a whole new generation of players.”
Just after learning his team’s group opponents, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said, “We are excited about this summer’s Gold Cup. The tournament improves every cycle and the level gets better and better.
“As the host, we get to play in different venues across the country, which is great for our fans. At the end of the day, we want to do well and make sure people understand that we want to be dominant in our region. Our goal is to win the competition.”
The USA’s draw is a mix of new and old opponents. The Mens National Team has never faced Belize, which is competing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the first time. The match on July 9 will be the USA’s first in Portland since a friendly with Kuwait in 1998.
It has been nearly five years since the USA squared off against Cuba, with the last meeting occurring during the Semifinal Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifying.
The USA’s most recent match against Cuba in the Gold Cup came in 2005, when goals from Landon Donovan (2), DaMarcus Beasley and Clint Dempsey gave the USA a 4-1 win in their opening match and set them on course to winning the title. Rio Tinto Stadium last hosted the U.S. MNT in a World Cup qualifier against El Salvador on Sept. 5, 2009.
The U.S. and Costa Rica have met six times in the Gold Cup, with the United States holding an undefeated 5-0-1 record against the Ticos including a 2-0 victory in the 2002 Gold Cup Final.
The U.S. will be facing Costa Rica in the Final Round of 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying on March 22 at sold-out Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
Not only does winning the Gold Cup earn the winners the respect of being regional champions, it also qualifies the Gold Cup champions to represent the region at the FIFA Confederations Cup, which brings together all of the FIFA Confederation championship in the year prior to the FIFA World Cup.
Mexico, which defeated the U.S. for the 2011 Gold Cup, is schedule to play in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup later this year in Brazil, site of the 2014 World Cup.
The 2011 tournament drew more than 6000,000 fans throughout 13 match-days, including nine sellouts.,