Gold Cup schedule out Thursday

The Gold Cup schedule will be announced Thursday.

The dates and venues have already been announced and are as follows:

First Round

July 3 – The Home Depot Center (Los Angeles)
July 4 – Qwest Field (Seattle)
July 5 – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (San Francisco)

July 7– Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
July 8 – RFK Stadium (Washington)
July 9 – Reliant Stadium (Houston)

July 10 – Florida International University Stadium (Miami)
July 11 – Gillette Stadium (Boston)
July 12 – University of Phoenix Stadium (Phoenix)

Quarterfinals
July 18 – Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
July 19 – Dallas Cowboys New Stadium (Dallas)

Semifinals
July 23 – Soldier Field (Chicago)

Final
July 26 – Giants Stadium (New York)

Now, I'm just guessing here, and I already did this in a way but wanted to do it again, but my guess is that Mexico will play in Oakland, Houston and Phoenix, while the US will play in Seattle, DC and Boston during the first round, respectively.

The cash cow, I mean, the final will be played at Giants Stadium, and I'm sure the chances of the US and Mexico meeting before then will be virtually impossible. Like, the US would have to finish third in their group and Mexico second, and they'd each have to have a plus-one goal differential while having scored seven goals and surrendered six in the first round. Something like that.

Now, here are the teams: United States, Panama, Honduras, Grenada, El Salvador, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Haiti.

I'm going to try and put together some groups here just for kicks

A: Costa Rica, Honduras, Guadeloupe, Haiti
B: United States, El Salvador, Canada, Grenada
C: Mexico, Jamaica, Panama, Nicaragua

I'm probably off but those seem somewhat balanced. Not sure if they'll account for geography, ie will they put three Caribbean teams in one group, will they make sure each group has at least on Caribbean team and one Central American team, things like that.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning. In the meantime, is it kickoff yet? US-TRI, MEX-HON... can't wait.

Gold Cup field

The Gold Cup venues were announced earlier this week (13, lame) but the groups weren't. However, the field is set. Cuba dropped out and were replaced by Haiti.

The full field:

United States, Panama, Honduras, Grenada, El Salvador, Jamaica, Guadeloupe, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Haiti.

I know the field lacks a bit of luster as we used to see some South American nations in here but this is the way it should be. There are enough teams in CONCACAF to make it an all-CONCACAF tournament, and judging by the absences of Trinidad and Guatemala, it's not exactly easy for the second- or third-tier teams to qualify and reach the tournament in the first place.

Still, I would love the Gold Cup more if it were held every four years. Honestly, I'm not sure about rotating it around to other countries simply because it's a big tournament and I don't know if other nations have the venues necessary to host it. If anything, it should go from the US and Mexico and possibly Canada.

Gold Cup venues

The Gold Cup venues have been announced. It's a stark change from the past, where we've had some sites host more than one matchday. This time, a different approach is in place as 13 different cities will host games.

Perhaps the most surprising venue is the one in Dallas. The honor of being the first-ever sporting event held at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium will be bestowed on the beautiful game as a soccer event while christen the stadium.

The Gold Cup will kick off with a doubleheader at Home Depot Center on July 3 and will culminate with the final, in Giants Stadium on July 26.

Here is the full fixture dates (groups and teams and all that will be determined at a later date)

First Round

July 3 – The Home Depot Center (Los Angeles)
July 4 – Qwest Field (Seattle)
July 5 – Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (San Francisco)

July 7– Crew Stadium (Columbus, Ohio)
July 8 – RFK Stadium (Washington)
July 9 – Reliant Stadium (Houston)

July 10 – Florida International University Stadium (Miami)
July 11 – Gillette Stadium (Boston)
July 12 – University of Phoenix Stadium (Phoenix)

Quarterfinals
July 18 – Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia)
July 19 – Dallas Cowboys New Stadium (Dallas)

Semifinals
July 23 – Soldier Field (Chicago)

Final
July 26 – Giants Stadium (New York)

Now, as far as the games go, my guess is we'll see Mexico play on the third day of games, that is on July 5, 9 and 12 in San Francisco, Houston and Phoenix, respectively. I'm also guessing the US will play on the second days, the 4, 8 and 11 in Seattle, Washington DC and Boston. I'm also guessing that Mexico will play its quarterfinal in Dallas... well, that the path for Mexico will line up so if El Tri reaches the quarterfinals they'll play in Dallas.

I don't know how I feel about having the teams travel so much during the group stage and tournament in general. To have a team play in three different cities in three different states across several time zones seems extreme. Teams will adjust as they'll all face the same itineraries but that weaken the overall tournament as well.

I also think that this is too soon from the last time around, that the Gold Cup should be played every four years instead of every other year. The next edition should not be played until 2013, or 2012, and the tournament could be held four years after that and so on. That would build more anticipation and make it more of a real tournament. Not to say it isn't real but the US and Mexico are always aligned so that the likeliest place they will meet for the first time in each tournament is in the final.

Still, I'll be following the Gold Cup and probably will attend our lone matchday doubleheaders out here at HDC. This time around, though, I'll only have one date to circle on my calendar.