US to play Haiti, Saudi Arabia, and Trinidad and Tobago in first round of CONCACAF Gold Cup

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The United States will play Haiti, Saudi Arabia, and Trinidad and Tobago in Group D during the first round of this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Defending Gold Cup champion Mexico will meet Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Suriname in Group A of the biennial championship of North and Central America and Caribbean, according to Thursday night’s draw, broadcast from an unspecified location that CONCACAF later said was in Miami.

Canada will face Curaçao, El Salvador and Honduras in Group B.

Panama will take on Guadeloupe, Guatemala and Jamaica in Group C.

CONCACAF has not announced sites and dates for individual matches other than the opener at Inglewood, California, on June 14 and the final at Houston on July 6, but said it will release a match schedule on Friday,

These will be the last competitive matches for U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino's team before its World Cup opener on June 12, 2026.

Sending a second-string team for the second straight Gold Cup, the U.S. lost a 2023 semifinal to Panama on penalty kicks.

The tournament will be played at the same time as the FIFA Club World Cup, which has been given priority for players by FIFA. Gold Cup matches will be played at 14 stadiums in 11 areas, avoiding the Eastern seaboard.

Saudi Arabia is an invited guest for the 2025 and 2027 Gold Cups.

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