Category: Gold Cup

Nicaragua kicked out of Gold Cup for fielding ineligible player

The USMNT will now face Trinidad and Tobago in Group A instead of the Central American nation

With less than two weeks until the Gold Cup kicks off, CONCACAF announced Monday night that Nicaragua had been kicked out of the tournament for fielding an ineligible player.

The confederation said the unnamed player participated in eight matches for Nicaragua, including matches in the 2022-23 Nations League.

Nicaragua was replaced by Trinidad and Tobago in Group A, with the Caribbean nation earning the right by being the highest second-place team overall from League B groups in the 2022-23 Nations League.

Trinidad and Tobago will join the United States, Jamaica and the winner of a playoff in Group A.

Additionally, Nicaragua has been relegated from League A of the 2023-24 Nations League, and will also be replaced by Trinidad and Tobago in that competition.

Though CONCACAF did not name the ineligible player who featured for Nicaragua, multiple reports have identified the player in question as Richard Rodríguez.

Rodríguez was born in Uruguay and moved to Nicaragua in 2018 when he signed for Real Estelí. He acquired Nicaraguan citizenship just a year later in 2019 and would begin playing for the national team shortly thereafter.

The forward played in World Cup qualifiers as well as Nations League games, but FIFA regulations state that an over-18 player who moves to a new country must live there for five consecutive years before they are eligible to play for their new national team.

That would only make Rodríguez eligible this year if he had lived in Nicaragua since 2018, but he even left Estelí in 2019 for a stint playing in Paraguay before returning to the Nicaragua side in 2020.

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USMNT coach Callaghan explains Brooks omission from Gold Cup roster

There will be no USMNT return for the 30-year-old this summer

John Brooks will not be making his U.S. men’s national team return this summer.

The Hoffenheim defender was not included in the USMNT’s 23-man roster for the Gold Cup on Monday, meaning his wait for a first cap since September 2021 will continue.

The 30-year-old has been in strong form for Hoffenheim since moving from Benfica in January, becoming a fixture in the club’s lineup and helping it avoid relegation from the Bundesliga.

Brooks declared his interest in a return to the national team in April, saying he was hopeful he could still play a part as the team looked ahead to a home World Cup in 2026.

Speaking to U.S. Soccer’s website, interim head coach B.J. Callaghan addressed Brooks’ absence from a Gold Cup squad that saw 16 of its 23 players come from MLS.

Callaghan affirmed Brooks’ desire to return to the USMNT, but said that he and his staff felt that a full preseason with Hoffenheim would be more beneficial to him than participating in the Gold Cup.

“We had a number of good conversations with John. As a starting point, he reiterated his commitment to the national team program and how much it means to him,” Callaghan said. “He is coming off a season at Hoffenheim where he was a key member of their fight to avoid relegation.

“This summer he will have the chance to participate in a full preseason with them for the first time, so we felt in this particular moment it’s best for him to take advantage of that opportunity and be performing at his highest level in the upcoming season to position himself to contribute to the national team in the future.”

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USMNT names MLS-heavy roster for 2023 Gold Cup

Of the 23 players, 16 come from MLS while five will do double duty with the Nations League

U.S. men’s national team interim head coach B.J. Callaghan has named his 23-man roster for the 2023 Gold Cup.

Of the 23 players, 16 will come from MLS teams as most of the USMNT’s biggest names will participate in the CONCACAF Nations League this month and skip the Gold Cup.

The USMNT will be aiming to defend its titles in both competitions.

Five players have been named to the rosters for both competitions: Sean Johnson, Matt Turner, Miles Robinson, Alan Soñora and Alex Zendejas.

Callaghan has opted for a youthful squad, with an average age of just over 25 and two players who participated in the recently completed U-20 World Cup: Gabriel Slonina and Cade Cowell.

Notably, there are also six dual nationals who will be cap-tied to the USMNT should they play at the Gold Cup: Soñora, Slonina, Cowell, Julian Gressel, Aidan Morris, and Brandon Vazquez.

Morris may be the most notable name on that list, given his recent admission that he was considering playing for Canada. Last week, Canada head coach John Herdman admitted that Morris was likely to stick with the USMNT.

The USMNT will open this year’s Gold Cup on June 24 when it faces Jamaica at Soldier Field in Chicago. That will be followed by a match against the winner of preliminary game No. 9 (one of Curaçao, Saint Kitts and Nevis, French Guiana, or Sint Maarten) on June 28 at CITYPARK in St. Louis. The U.S. will conclude Group A play with a match against Trinidad and Tobago at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on July 2.

USMNT Gold Cup roster (club; caps/goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Toronto FC/CAN; 12/0), Gaga Slonina (Chelsea/ENG; 1/0), Matt Turner (Arsenal/ENG; 26/0)

DEFENDERS (8): DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution; 2/0), Aaron Long (LAFC; 32/3), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati; 23/1), Jalen Neal (LA Galaxy; 2/0), Bryan Reynolds (Roma/ITA; 3/0), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 21/3), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls; 1/0), DeAndre Yedlin (Inter Miami; 78/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 9/0), Djordje Mihailovic (AZ Alkmaar/NED; 6/1), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 32/3), James Sands (New York City FC; 8/0), Alan Soñora (FC Juárez/MEX; 2/0)

FORWARDS (6): Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; 3/0), Jesús Ferreira (FC Dallas; 18/8), Julian Gressel (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 2/0), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders; 52/11), Brandon Vazquez (FC Cincinnati; 3/1), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 3/1)

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USMNT to visit Chicago, St, Louis and Charlotte in Gold Cup group stage

The U.S. will face Jamaica, Nicaragua and a team to be determined in Group A

After learning who it would play in the Gold Cup group stage last week, the U.S. men’s national team now knows where it will play.

CONCACAF released the schedule for the 2023 Gold Cup on Tuesday, just days after conducting the draw at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which will host the final on July 16.

The USMNT will have the honor of opening this year’s Gold Cup on June 24 when it faces Jamaica at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The defending champions will then face the winner of preliminary game No. 9 (one of Curaçao, Saint Kitts and Nevis, French Guiana, or Sint Maarten) on June 28 at CITYPARK in St. Louis, and will conclude Group A play with a match against Nicaragua at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on July 2.

Should the USMNT advance from Group A, its quarterfinal would be on July 9 at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. The semifinal will then be held on July 12 at either Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego or Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, with each stadium set to host one semifinal match.

Meanwhile, Mexico will begin its Group B campaign against Honduras at Houston’s NRG Stadium on June 25, and then face Haiti at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on June 29 and Qatar at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on July 2.

USMNT Gold Cup group stage schedule (times ET)

June 24: United States vs Jamaica – Soldier Field, Chicago, IL, 9:30 p.m.
June 28: Winner Prelims 9 vs United States – CITYPARK, St. Louis, MO, 9:30 p.m.
July 2: United States vs Nicaragua – Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC, 7 p.m.

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2023 Gold Cup draw: USMNT paired with Jamaica while Mexico lands in group of death

El Tri may be in the toughest Gold Cup group ever constructed

The groups for this summer’s Gold Cup are set.

CONCACAF conducted the draw for this summer’s tournament at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, which will host the 2023 Gold Cup final on July 16.

Friday’s draw included both the group stage draw for the Gold Cup, which begins on June 24, as well as the pairings for preliminary qualifiers from the Caribbean.

The qualifying round consists of 12 teams: Trinidad and Tobago, Martinique, Curaçao, French Guiana, Suriname, Guyana, Guadaloupe, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Puerto Rico, and Sint Maarten.

They will play two rounds of one-game playoffs at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, with two tripleheaders on June 16-17 and a third tripleheader on June 20. The three winning teams on June 20 — just four days before the tournament kicks off — will claim the last spots in the Gold Cup itself.

The U.S. men’s national team will face Jamaica, Nicaragua, and the winner of preliminary game No. 9 (one of Curaçao, Saint Kitts and Nevis, French Guiana, or Sint Maarten) in Group A.

“Overall, I’m pleased with the draw,” said USMNT interim coach Anthony Hudson via press release. “I think Jamaica is a really tough team and our previous experience in this competition tells us that there are no easy opponents and every game is complicated. As we know, these teams are improving every year, and that’s good for everyone.”

Mexico, meanwhile, is in Group B with Haiti, Honduras, and Qatar, likely the most daunting group in Gold Cup history.

2023 Gold Cup draw

  • Group A: USA, Jamaica, Nicaragua, winner of preliminary game No. 9
  • Group B: Mexico, Haiti, Honduras, Qatar
  • Group C: Costa Rica, Panama, El Salvador, winner of preliminary game No. 8
  • Group D: Canada, Guatemala, Cuba, winner of preliminary game No. 7

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Gold Cup 2023 stadiums: All 15 venues for the tournament

The tournament will be played at 15 stadiums across 14 cities in the USA and Canada.

CONCACAF has announced the host venues for the 2023 Gold Cup, which will be played at 15 stadiums across 14 cities in the United States and Canada.

The 17th edition of the tournament will take place between June 16 and July 16, with SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles set to host the final.

There will be four stadiums hosting Gold Cup matches for the first time, including SoFi Stadium. The other three are CITYPARK Stadium (St. Louis), Snapdragon Stadium (San Diego), and TQL Stadium (Cincinnati).

Also, for the first time since 2015, Canada will hold Gold Cup matches, with BMO Field in Toronto serving as a host stadium.

Here are all 15 stadiums that will host 2023 Gold Cup games this summer.