After two dismal tournament showings the past year, the U.S. men’s national soccer team will have one last large-scale opportunity to solve its problems before the 2026 World Cup.
It will come this summer in the Concacaf Gold Cup, starting with Group D matches against Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago and Saudi Arabia. The draw for the 16-team biennial competition — featuring participants from North and Central America and the Caribbean, plus one guest — was conducted Thursday night in Miami.
Saudi Arabia was invited after Qatar played in the previous two Gold Cups. Aside from the Saudi team, there will be a sizable Saudi presence at the tournament after Concacaf struck multiyear sponsorship deals with Aramco, the state-owned oil company; Riyadh Air; the Saudi Tourism Authority; and the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth entity that owns LIV Golf and is overseen by Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman.
In the 2021 and 2023 tournaments, Qatar Airways was a major sponsor.
The dates and locations of group and knockout matches will be announced Friday.
U.S. Coach Mauricio Pochettino will seek to rebound from a last-place finish in the four-team Concacaf Nations League finals last month in Inglewood, California. The Gold Cup will fall one year after the U.S. crashed out of Copa América in the group stage — a performance that cost Gregg Berhalter his coaching job and raised questions about U.S. preparedness for the World Cup, which will take place at 16 venues in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
After the Gold Cup, the only opportunities for Pochettino to prepare his 16th-ranked team for the World Cup will come in 10 friendlies.
Of the Gold Cup group opponents, Saudi Arabia, at No. 58, is highest ranked by FIFA. Haiti is No. 83 and Trinidad & Tobago is No. 100.
Mexico, the Gold Cup’s defending champion, will head Group A, joined by Costa Rica, Suriname and the Dominican Republic. Canada will be joined in Group B by Honduras, El Salvador and Curaçao. Panama will anchor Group C, accompanied by Jamaica, Guatemala and Guadeloupe.
The tournament will run June 14 through July 6, culminating at NRG Stadium in Houston. Concacaf is expected to showcase Mexico on opening day at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,. The U.S. seems certain to open the next day.
The other host cities are Arlington, Texas; Austin; St. Louis; Minneapolis; Glendale, Arizona; Las Vegas; Santa Clara, California; San Jose; San Diego; Carson, California; and Vancouver.
Since Canada won the 2000 trophy, Mexico and the United States have won six titles apiece.
