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
[lawrence-related id=17212,17470,17389]