The USMNT’s first competitive match after more than 600 days will be played in Minnesota on June 18. The 2019 Gold Cup schedule, venues and dates were announced Tuesday and the U.S. is going to be setting up in the Midwest for the 15th edition of Concacaf’s championship tournament.
Since losing to Trinidad and Tobago to be knocked out of the 2018 World Cup one year ago Wednesday, the USMNT has played some meaningless friendlies with a bunch of young kids and an interim coach.
Next summer, it finally gets real again, with a return to competitive fixtures that actually mean something more than getting reps for the future of the team. Though the team still hasn’t hired a coach.
Concacaf set the 2019 Gold Cup schedule and locations for each of the four groups of four — the tournament will increase from 12 to 16 teams for the first time this edition. Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras and the U.S. have already been seeded into Groups A-D, respectively. Panama and Trinidad and Tobago are also already in the tournament, qualifying automatically by reaching the 2018 World Cup qualifying hexagonal. The other 10 teams will be determined by the Concacaf Nations League qualifying and the draw will take place some time after the final CNL matches in March.
The 2019 Gold Cup schedule is as follows:
2019 Gold Cup Schedule, Venues, Dates
Group A (Mexico)
- June 15: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- June 19: Broncos Stadium at Mile High, Denver
- June 23: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte
Group B (Costa Rica)
- June 16: Non-U.S. venue to be determined
- June 20: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas
- June 24: Red Bull Arena, Harrison, New Jersey
Group C (Honduras)
- June 17: Non-U.S. venue to be determined
- June 21: BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston
- June 25: Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles
Group D (United States)
- June 18: Allianz Field, Saint Paul, Minnesota
- June 22: FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland
- June 26: Children's Mercy Park, Kansas City, Kansas
Quarterfinals (Doubleheaders)
- June 29: NRG Stadium, Houston (QF1: 2A v 1C & QF2: 1A v 2C)*
- June 30: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia (QF3: 2B v 1D & QF4: 1B v 2D)*
Semifinals
- July 2: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona (Winner QF1 v Winner QF2)
- July 3: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee (Winner QF3 v Winner QF4)
Final
- July 7: Soldier Field, Chicago
* — Order of matches subject to change.
Each of the group-stage match dates listed above will be doubleheaders. Interestingly, six of the matches (nearly 20 percent) will be played in Texas, but none at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys. Houston is the only city with multiple match dates, hosting Group C matches at BBVA Compass Stadium, home of the Houston Dynamo, and quarterfinals at NRG Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.
Mexico will be in two familiar locales for its first two matches: Los Angeles for the tournament opener and Denver. Charlotte is an odd choice to send El Tri, but we’re sure their fans will show up in force regardless. The quarterfinal in Houston and semifinal in Arizona will produce heavily pro-Mexico crowds.
The U.S. is sticking to the Midwestern states of Minnesota, Cleveland and Kansas for the group stage. Allianz Field is a new soccer-specific stadium set to open up in March in Saint Paul. In the knockout rounds, it’s east a bit to Philadelphia before a semifinal in Tennessee. Compared to Mexico, the U.S. will have far less travel to deal with.
The final will be at Soldier Field in Chicago, which has hosted two of the last three U.S. Gold Cup final victories in 2013 (1-0 vs. Panama) and 2007 (2-1 vs. Mexico).
The U.S. is the reigning champ, having beaten Jamaica 2-1 in the 2017 final. If the USMNT wins, it will qualify for the 2021 Confederations Cup. If someone else wins, that team would play the U.S. in a playoff to determine Concacaf’s representative at the Confederations Cup.
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