Doug McIntyre
Soccer Journalist
The U.S. men’s national team is aiming to win its eighth Concacaf Gold Cup title this summer. Now the Americans know their path.
Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT squad learned the identity of its three group stage opponents during Thursday’s draw. The tournament co-hosts will face Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and guest team Saudi Arabia in Group D this summer. The full first round schedule will be announced at a later date.
The 16-team tournament, which includes 15 participations from the Concacaf region that encompasses North and Central America and the Caribbean plus the Saudis, kicks off in 13 cities —12 in the U.S. and one, Vancouver, in Canada — on June 14. All the venues are west of the Mississippi River, with FIFA’s Club World Cup taking place mostly on the East Coast at the same time.
The top two teams from each of the four Gold Cup groups will advance to the quarterfinals. The championship will take place on July 6 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
The U.S. is a heavy favorite to advance to the last eight, but that doesn’t mean the matches will be easy. While the USMNT hasn’t lost to Haiti since 1973 the games are usually close; the Americans won their Gold Cup meetings with the Haitians by identical 1-0 scorelines in 2015 and 2021.
The Americans have dominated Trinidad and Tobago historically, going 22-4-4 all time. But one of those four losses was hugely consequential, costing the U.S. a spot in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia, which is making its Gold Cup debut, has also played the U.S. tough. The most recent encounter between the sides came in the USMNT’s final friendly before the 2022 World Cup, a scoreless draw in Murcia, Spain.
Two months later, the Saudis stunned Lionel Messi and Argentina at the main event — the only defeat the eventual champions suffered in their seven games in Qatar.
Mexico has the most successful nation in Gold Cup history, winning the competition nine times in 17 tries, including the most recent edition in 2023. The U.S. is second with seven titles. Canada – a first-time host this year – is the only other country to have hoisted the trophy, a feat they accomplished way back in 2000 when they upset guest foe Colombia in the final.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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