USMNT Draws Easy Gold Cup Group Ahead of Concacaf Title Defense

The U.S. men’s national team will kick off the defense of its regional crown with games against Jamaica and Nicaragua, plus the winner of a four-team qualifier, in the group stage of the Concacaf Gold Cup, which will be contested this June and July in 14 U.S. venues and Toronto.

The draw was conducted Friday afternoon at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the site of the July 16 final. The Americans, led by interim manager Anthony Hudson, will be aiming to repeat as Concacaf champions for the second time. They previously went back-to-back in 2005 and ’07.

The group-stage schedule and specific stadium assignments will be announced “in the coming days,” Concacaf said Friday. The top two finishers in each four-team group will advance to the quarterfinals. There, the U.S. would face a nation from Group D (likely Canada, Guatemala or Cuba). A semifinal against Mexico is also possible. In the past, the rivals typically were kept apart until a potential final regardless of their first-round performance. This summer, if one of them stumbles and finishes second in the group stage, they could wind up meeting in the final four. The July 12 semis are expected to be out west to minimize travel before the final.

The U.S. reaching that SoFi final is no guarantee, but getting past the first round is as close to a sure thing as you’ll find in international soccer. Through the previous 16 Gold Cup tournaments, the U.S. has been beaten only once during the group stage: a 2011 setback to Panama that was avenged in the semis.

Interim manager Hudson will try to lead the USMNT to a repeat Concacaf title.

Reinhold Matay/USA TODAY Sports

While the likes of Jamaica and Nicaragua aren’t expected to change that this summer, it’s uncertain how strong Hudson’s squad will be. Once again, Concacaf has scheduled the final four of its secondary Nations League competition just before the Gold Cup. The U.S., Mexico, Canada and Panama will contest the Nations League semis and finals June 15–18, just a few days before the June 24 Gold Cup kickoff.

Two years ago, U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter (with Hudson assisting) took advantage of the two tournaments’ proximity by essentially splitting the player pool, with a few exceptions. A team featuring just four MLS players won the 2021 Nations League, then a group featuring only four men based in Europe lifted the ’21 Gold Cup. That success, not to mention the desire to give those from European clubs a summer break—don’t forget there was a World Cup in the middle of their seasons—means a similar approach is likely this time around.

The incongruity of fielding a weaker team in the more prestigious competition remains a Concacaf anomaly, but it’s understandable considering the scheduling and the depth at Hudson’s disposal.

“We feel we have a really healthy, strong player pool,” Hudson said this month, adding that he hopes some players are interested in both competitions. “We are just focused on making sure that we put out a squad, a team, that we feel that can win the next game, the next tournament—as we demonstrated in 2021 very well. It’s something that we believe could work for us going forward.”

The most significant early challenge for the 13th-ranked U.S. likely will be Jamaica, which made the Americans sweat in a grinding, 1–1 World Cup qualifying draw in late 2021. The Reggae Boyz can call upon Premier League attackers like Michail Antonio (West Ham United), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa) and Jamal Lowe (Bournemouth), and they’re managed by Heimir Hallgrímsson, who famously coached Iceland to the Euro ’16 quarterfinals and the ’18 World Cup. Jamaica is also responsible for the worst loss in U.S. Gold Cup history: a 2–1 semifinal disaster in ’15.

Mexico, under new coach Diego Cocca, an Argentine who most recently managed Tigres UANL, will be playing for its ninth Gold Cup title and 12th continental championship overall. The U.S. has won seven Gold Cups. Canada (2001) is the only other nation to lift the trophy. The three northern powers are seeded this summer along with Costa Rica, which has advanced to just one Gold Cup final (’02) despite its strength relative to the rest of the confederation and its routine success in World Cup qualifying.

Qatar will participate in its second straight Gold Cup thanks to an agreement reached between the confederation and the 2022 World Cup host. The remaining three places will be filled by the survivors of a 12-team preliminary tournament played June 16–20 at Inter Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium.

Here are the Gold Cup groups.

GROUP A

USA
Jamaica
Nicaragua
Curaçao /Saint Kitts and Nevis/French Guiana/Sint Maarten

GROUP B

Mexico
Haiti
Honduras
Qatar

GROUP C

Costa Rica
Panama
El Salvador
Martinique/Saint Lucia/Suriname/Puerto Rico

GROUP D

Canada
Guatemala
Cuba
Trinidad and Tobago/Guadeloupe/Guyana/Grenada

Here’s more on the U.S.’s Group A opponents.

JAMAICA

FIFA Rank: 63
Gold Cup history: 13th appearance; runner-up 2015, ’17
Against U.S.: U.S. leads 19-3-9 (Gold Cup 6-1-0)

NICARAGUA

FIFA Rank: 140
Gold Cup history: 4th appearance; group stage 2009, ’17, ’19
Against U.S.: U.S. leads 1-0-0 (Gold Cup 1-0-0)

CURAÇAO/SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS/FRENCH GUIANA/SINT MAARTEN

FIFA Rank: Curaçao #88, Saint Kitts and Nevis #139, French Guiana (not FIFA member), Sint Maarten (not FIFA member)
Gold Cup history: Curaçao, two appearances (quarterfinal 2019); French Guiana, one appearance (group stage ’17); Saint Kitts and Nevis and Sint Maarten, no appearances
Against U.S.: U.S. leads Curaçao 2-0-1 (Gold Cup 1-0-0)