2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup schedule announced
The United States will be in a group with Belize, Costa Rica and Cuba.
2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup schedule announced
Jonathan Tannenwald
CONCACAF, North American soccer's governing body, has released the schedule of games for this summer's Gold Cup.
The United States will be in a group with Belize, Costa Rica and Cuba. That should be an easy enough group to advance from, but having the final group stage game against the Ticos wil be tricky.
Should the United States advance, its quarterfinal matchup will likely be in Baltimore. That's the closest the team will come th Philadelphia.
Both semifinals will be at Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas, and the championship game will be at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The way the draw breaks down, the U.S. would not face perennial rival Mexico until the championship game. That's how CONCACAF wants it (and I think we'd all agree that's how it should be).
Fox Sports (in English) and Univision (in Spanish) are the Godl Cup's U.S. TV rights holders.
Based on what's been published by CONCACAF and reported elsewhere, here's a breakdown of the groups and the schedule. All times are Eastern:
Group A: Canada, Martinique, Mexico, Panama
Sunday, July 7: Canada vs. Martinique (5:30 p.m.) and Mexico vs. Panama (8:00 p.m.) at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
Thursday, July 11: Panama vs. Martinique (8:30 p.m.) and Mexico vs. Canada (11:00 p.m.) at CenturyLink Field, Seattle, Wash.
Sunday, July 14: Martinique vs. Mexico (4:00 p.m.) and Panama vs. Canada (6:30 p.m.) at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colo.
Group B: El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Trinidad and Tobago
Monday, July 8: El Salvador vs. Trinidad and Tobago (7:00 p.m.) and Haiti vs. Honduras (9:30 p.m.) at Red Bull Arena, Harrison, N.J.
Friday, July 12: Trinidad and Tobago vs. Haiti (7:00 p.m.) and Honduras vs. El Salvador (9:30 p.m.) at Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
Monday, July 15: El Salvador vs. Haiti (7:00 p.m.) and Honduras vs. Trinidad & Tobago (9:30 p.m.) at BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, Texas
Group C: Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, United States
Tuesday, July 9: Costa Rica vs. Cuba (8:30 p.m.) and Belize vs. United States (11:00 p.m.) at JELD-WEN Field, Portland, Ore.
Saturday, July 13: United States vs. Cuba (3:30 p.m.) and Costa Rica vs. Belize (6:00 p.m.) at Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Tuesday, July 16: Cuba vs. Belize (5:30 p.m.) and United States vs. Costa Rica (8:00 p.m.) at Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Conn.
Quarterfinals
Saturday, July 20: A2 vs. B2 and A1 vs. B3 or C3 at the Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga. (3:00 and 6:00 p.m., order of games TBD)
Sunday, July 21: B1 vs. C2) and C1 vs. A3 or B3 at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md. (4:00 and 7:00 p.m., order of games TBD)
Semifinals
Wednesday, July 24: Winner of Quarterfinal 3 vs. Winner of Quarterfinal 4 and Winner of Quarterfinal 1 vs. Winner of Quarterfinal 2 at Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, Texas (7:00 and 10:00 p.m., order of games TBD)
Championship Game
Sunday, July 28: Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 (4:00 p.m.) at Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.
In case you forgot what happened the last time the U.S. and Mexico contested a Gold Cup championship game at Soldier Field, or if you weren't following soccer at that point...
Reach Jonathan at jtannenwald@phillynews.com or 215-854-2330.
