USA drawn into Group A for 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will face Mexico, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago in Group A at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship as eight teams begin a quest for the region’s three automatic berths to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship will be played from October 4-17.

The groups and match-ups were set during the Final Draw that was held this morning in Miami. Group B features Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Cuba.

The USA opens its qualifying schedule on Oct. 4 against Mexico (7:30 p.m. ET), faces Panama on Oct. 7(5 p.m. ET) and then finishes group play against T&T on Oct. 10 (7:30 p.m. ET).

All Group A matches will be played at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park, while all Group B matches will be played at H-E-B Park in Edinburg, Texas. Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas will host the all-important semifinals, the third-place match and the championship game.

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The United States, Canada and Mexico received automatic berths into the Concacaf Women’s Championship, while Costa Rica and Panama emerged from the Central American qualifying tournament and Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and Cuba earned their berths at the Caribbean qualifying tournament.

The tournament features eight countries divided into two groups of four with each group’s top two finishers after round-robin play advancing to the semifinals. The winners of the semifinal matches and the third-place match will qualify directly to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The fourth-place finisher will earn a spot in a two-game playoff against Argentina, which was the third-place team from South America, for a final berth to France.

The top two finishers in each group will cross-over to play the second-place finishers in the other group during the semifinals, which will take place on Oct. 14. The third-place match and championship will be held on Oct. 17.

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FOX Sports, the home of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, will show the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship across the FOX Sports family of networks. For viewers on the go, matches can be streamed live via FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports app.

Additional Notes:

• The United States won the first four Concacaf Women’s World Cup qualifying tournaments in which it competed (1991, 1994, 2002 and 2006) but fell to Mexico in the semifinal of the 2010 competition, which forced the USA to win the Third-Place match and then defeat Italy in a two-game playoff to earn a berth to Germany.
• The USA won this competition in 2014, defeating Mexico 3-0 in the semifinal to qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Cup and then took down Costa Rica 6-0 in the title game.
• The first four Concacaf Women’s World Cup qualifying championship games in which the USA participated featured a USA vs. Canada match-up, but as host of the last Women’s World Cup, Canada did not participate in the 2014 qualifying tournament. The teams did not meet in the 2011 tournament, when Canada won its only championship.
• The USA has played Mexico in all six Concacaf World Cup qualifying tournaments in which it has participated. As host, the USA did not participate in the qualifying tournament for the 1999 Women’s World Cup.
• Mexico handed the USA its only loss in this tournament, that coming in Cancun, Mexico in 2010, which forced the USA to win the Third-Place match against Costa Rica, and then defeat Italy in a two-game playoff to earn a berth to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• The USA defeated Mexico 3-0 in the semifinal at the 2014 tournament to earn its berth to the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada. Carli Lloyd scored twice and Christen Press once.
• The USA has played Trinidad & Tobago 10 times in its history, four times in Women’s World Cup qualifying, and won all 10.
• At the Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in 2014, the USA defeated T&T 1-0 on a goal from Abby Wambach.
• The USA has faced Panama just once before, that coming at the Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in 2002. The USA won 9-0 in Seattle, Washington.
• The USA is 27-1-0 all-time in Concacaf Women’s World Cup qualifying.

2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship
Women’s World Cup Qualifying

GROUP A – Cary, N.C.
USA
Mexico
Trinidad & Tobago
Panama

GROUP B – Edinburg, Texas
Canada
Jamaica
Costa Rica
Cuba

2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship Schedule