How the United States and Mexico make out at the upcoming Gold Cup, the most important national team tournament in North America, is just one of the points that make this tournament intriguing.
The U.S. which will host the tournament, has done its best so that the 15 visiting teams could feel at home while playing their respective matches in 15 top-level venues.
U.S. fans are increasingly warming up to soccer, and becoming more familiar with the Gold Cup, with large numbers of supporters expected to witness this soccer growth in person.
A little over six months after the World Cup in Qatar, the Gold Cup represents a great opportunity to test the competitive level of regional teams from Central America and the Caribbean, that were not present on that biggest of soccer stages.
For the United States, Mexico, and Canada, this tournament represents the start of the road towards the 2026 World Cup which all three countries will host, with two out of the three under new leadership.
The USMNT recently announced the arrival of new head coach Gregg Berhalter, although interim coach Brian Joseph Callaghan II will manage the team during Gold Cup.
For its part, Mexico’s dismissal of Diego Cocca, for having failed in the Concacaf Nationals League, puts new coach Jaime Lozano in the spotlight with less than a week on the job.
Canada and Guatemala, two projects to follow at the Gold Cup
During the last World Cup qualifying round, Canada’s excellent performance allowed them to qualify for Qatar 2022.
However, while the team seemingly collapsed when they finally got there, the Canadian Soccer Association intends to give continuity to their project-building under coach John Herdman, and are expecting a good showing from him during the Gold Cup tournament.
Guatemala is another team to be watched, since the work carried out by their Mexican coach Luis Fernando Tena, has once again raised the team’s positioning and prospects within Concacaf.
The 2023 CONCACAF GOLD CUP will be played from June 24 to July 16, in various cities throughout the U.S., including LA, Houston, Las Vegas and Miami.
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