The road to the 2013 Gold Cup will go through Chicago.
CONCACAF on Wednesday revealed the complete groups and match schedule for the the 2013 edition of the tournament, awarding the July 28 final to Soldier Field, where the US captured the 2009 trophy in a memorable final against Mexico.
The two CONCACAF powers headline two of the three groups unveiled at a Chicago press conference. The USA will meet Cuba and surprise outfit Belize in Group C, while Mexico will do battle with the likes of Canada and Panama in Group A:
GROUP A: Mexico, Panama, Canada, Martinique
GROUP B: Honduras, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti
GROUP C: USA, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba
A total of 13 different US cities will host matches. Among the sites are five MLS stadiums: CenturyLink Field, JELD-WEN Field, Red Bull Arena, BBVA Compass Stadium and Rio Tinto Stadium.
CONCACAF also announced that tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, March 21, with special presales launching this week.
Complete tournament details follow below:
GROUP A: Mexico, Panama, Canada, Martinique
Matchday 1: Sunday, July 7 – Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.)
Canada vs. Martinique, 5:30 pm ET
Mexico vs. Panama, 8 pm ET
Matchday 2: Thursday, July 11 – CenturyLink Field (Seattle)
Panama vs. Martinique, 8:30 pm ET
Mexico vs. Canada, 11 pm ET
Matchday 3: Sunday, July 14 – Sports Authority Field at Mile High (Denver)
Martinique vs. Mexico, 4 pm ET
Panama vs. Canada, 6:30 pm ET
GROUP B: Honduras, El Salvador, Trinidad & Tobago, Haiti
Matchday 1: Monday, July 8 – Red Bull Arena (Harrison, N.J.)
El Salvador vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 7 pm ET
Haiti vs. Honduras, 9:30 pm ET
Matchday 2: Friday, July 12 – Sun Life Stadium (Miami)
Trinidad & Tobago vs. Haiti, 7 pm ET
Honduras vs. El Salvador, 9:30 pm ET
Matchday 3: Monday, July 15 – BBVA Compass Stadium (Houston)
El Salvador vs. Haiti, 7 pm ET
Honduras vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 9:30 pm ET
GROUP C: USA, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba
Matchday 1: Tuesday, July 9 – JELD-WEN Field (Portland, Ore.)
Costa Rica vs. Cuba, 8:30 pm ET
Belize vs. USA, 11 pm ET
Matchday 2: Saturday, July 13 – Rio Tinto Stadium (Sandy, Utah)
USA vs. Cuba, 3:30 pm ET
Costa Rica vs. Belize, 6 pm ET
Matchday 3: Tuesday, July 16 – Rentschler Field (East Hartford, Conn.)
Cuba vs. Belize, 5:30 pm ET
USA vs. Costa Rica, 8 pm ET
QUARTERFINALS (Atlanta, Baltimore)
Saturday, July 20 – Georgia Dome (Atlanta @ 3 pm ET and 6 pm ET)
QF1: A2 vs. B2
QF2: A1 vs. B3/C3
Sunday, July 21 – M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore @ 4 pm ET and 7 pm ET)
QF3: B1 vs. C2
QF4: C1 vs. A3/B3
SEMIFINALS (Arlington)
Wednesday, July 24 – Cowboys Stadium (Arlington, Texas @ 7 pm ET and 10 pm ET)
QF1 vs. QF2
QF3 vs. QF4
FINAL (Chicago)
Sunday, July 28 – Soldier Field (Chicago @ 4 pm ET)
