MIAMI (AP) — The new preliminary rounds of the CONCACAF Gold Cup will be played at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from July 2-6, leading to the final three nations qualifying for the 16-nation group stage.
Matchups on July 2 and 3 have Haiti-St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Guatemala-Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago-Monserrat, Cuba-French Guiana, Guadeloupe-Bahamas and Bermuda-Barbados, the Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Football said Thursday.
Winners meet on July 6 for berths in the tournament.
The Haiti-St. Vincent_Bermuda-Barbados winner joins the United States, Canada and Martinique in Group B.
The Trinidad-Montserrat, Cuba-French Guiana winner joins Mexico, El Salvador and Curaçao in Group A.
The Guatemala-Guyana, Guadeloupe-Bahamas winner joins Costa Rica, Jamaica and Suriname in Group C.
Honduras, Panama, Grenada and invited guest Qatar, next year’s World Cup host, are in Group D.
Most top players are not likely to play in the Gold Cup, which runs from July 10 to Aug. 1. U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter has said he plans to give Europe-based players time off ahead of the 2021-22 club seasons and recall them for the start of World Cup qualifying in September.
___
More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
