USMNT to play in Nashville, Tampa, Cleveland in CONCACAF Gold Cup
CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Men’s National Team has been placed atop Group B for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup as it seeks its sixth confederation championship title.
The U.S. will open its tournament schedule on July 8 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville Tenn., followed by a July 12 game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. Three days later, the USA will complete the group phase at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.
Complete groups and schedule, including selection of dates and assignment of matches for the knockout round and the awarding of the Final, will be announced next year.
CONCACAF’s top-ranked teams – including the United States and Mexico – will headline the 12-nation tournament from July 7-26 across the USA. A total of seven teams have already secured a place in the 14th edition of the Gold Cup .
A total of 13 cities in the U.S. will host matches throughout the event – Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and Tampa.
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The team’s opener will be the USA’s first Gold Cup match in Nashville. Overall, the U.S. has a 2-2-0 record in the Music City, including a 3-0 win on April 1, 2009, against Trinidad & Tobago in which Jozy Altidore became the youngest USMNT player in history to record a hat trick .
Raymond James Stadium also has four USMNT games to its credit, with the United States going 3-0-1 in the venue. Fans in Tampa have also been treated to a hat trick performance, this off the foot of Landon Donovan in a 3-1 win on March 25, 2007, against Ecuador .
Cleveland has twice hosted the Men’s National Team, serving as the second stop of the Send-Off Series for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In that 2-0 win, current U.S. captain Michael Bradley made his National Team debut.
Set to be played just under a year from the kick off of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, as it has in the past, the tournament will continue to be an important proving ground for the United States in its World Cup preparations.
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The U.S. has previously won the CONCACAF Gold Cup five times, earning the regional championship in 1991, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2013. Returning to the post he held from 1998-2006, MNT head coach Bruce Arena is one of only two managers to win the tournament twice – Bora Milutinovic won it with the U.S. in 1991 and Mexico in 1996 — and holds a stellar 14-1-4 all-time record in the competition.
Taking place every two years, the CONCACAF Gold Cup is the official national team championship of the region, which includes North and Central America and the Caribbean, and will be broadcast next year in the United States on the FOX and Univision family of networks. Drawing large crowds and millions of television viewers across the region, the Gold Cup is a celebration of soccer, sportsmanship, and culture.
The winner of the 2017 tournament will take home continental bragging rights and an assured spot in the next CONCACAF Cup, a play-in game to qualify for the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup, in the case two separate champions emerge from the next two editions of the Gold Cup.
Group Stage Venues & Dates:
July 7, Group A – NY/NJ – Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ)
July 8, Group B – Nashville – Nissan Stadium (Nashville, TN)
July 9, Group C – San Diego – Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego, CA)
July 11, Group A – Houston – BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston, TX)
July 12, Group B – Tampa Bay – Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL)
July 13, Group C – Denver – Sports Authority Field (Denver, CO)
July 14, Group A – Dallas – Toyota Stadium (Frisco, TX)
July 15, Group B – Cleveland – FirstEnergy Stadium (Cleveland, OH)
July 16, Group C – San Antonio – Alamodome (San Antonio, TX)
Knockout Round Venues (alphabetical order by metropolitan area):
Bay Area – Levi’s Stadium (Santa Clara, CA)
Dallas – AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX)
Los Angeles – Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
Philadelphia – Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA)
Phoenix – University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, AZ)
