The CONCACAF Gold Cup: The latest CONCACAF Gold Cup will be the focus of attention in the USA as the Americans attempt to defend their championship against a number of rivals, including Mexico, Canada, and Jamaica.
To select the 27th champion for the continent, the competition brings together the best countries from the Confederation of North, Central American & Caribbean Association Football, or CONCACAF.
The last 11 Gold Cup competitions have either been won by Mexico or the USA, but neither of those two North American giants will have a regular head coach in place for the 2023 competition.
Following their third-place performance in the Nations League, El Tri recently fired Diego Cocca and replaced him with Jaime Lozano. Until Gregg Berhalter rejoins the team as permanent manager after the Gold Cup, B.J. Callaghan is serving as the USA’s interim manager.
The 2023 edition could present a significant opportunity for an outsider to join the exclusive group of all-time Gold Cup winners because both heavyweights will bring squads full of fringe and domestic-based players.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup
The CONCACAF region is no different than the majority of other continents in having its own championship for national teams.
The Gold Cup is the North American continental championship, which also covers the Caribbean and Central America.
The event began in 1963 as the CONCACAF Championship, then in 1991 it underwent a rebranding to become the Gold Cup, which is how it is still known today.
The majority of continental championships, like the UEFA European Championships in Europe and the CONMEBOL Copa America in South America, take place every four years, evenly spaced between FIFA World Cup cycles. However, the Gold Cup is run differently.
The competition is held by CONCACAF every two years (in odd-numbered years), and it is the organization’s primary source of income as it tries to develop the sport and enhance national team and club tournaments for its 41 member nations.
After winning the men’s competition in 2021, the United States is the current champion and will attempt to win the Gold Cup twice in a row for the first time since 2005 and 2007.
How is the Gold Cup conducted?
The Gold Cup competition comprises two phases: a preliminary phase and a main phase. Lower-ranked countries must compete in the preliminary phase, while higher-ranked countries advance directly to the main phase.
Eligibility for the Gold Cup
By placing first or second in their League A group or by winning their League B group, teams can qualify for the Gold Cup through the CONCACAF Nations League.
Twelve further nations compete for the remaining three spots in a preliminary qualifying round, also determined by how they placed in the Nations League.
Usually, a guest country invited from another region is given the 16th position (like Qatar in 2021 and 2023).
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Gold Cup competition structure
The 16 teams that advance to the final round are divided into four-team groups for the group round.
Each Gold Cup group’s top two finishers proceed to the knockout rounds, where they compete in an eight-team bracket beginning with the quarterfinals, moving on to the semifinals, and ultimately the final and third-place match.
All knockout round games are single elimination affairs, with extra time and, if required, penalty kicks being utilised to decide the victor on the day.
All-time Gold Cup winners
Canada won the Gold Cup in 2000, the only time a team other than Mexico or the United States has won it in its contemporary period (since 1991). In that particular year, neither of the two established powers advanced past the quarterfinals.
Mexico has won eight Gold Cup championships, while the United States has taken home seven. Additionally, the Gold Cup final has seen seven encounters between those two nations.
The trophy has never been won by a team from outside the CONCACAF region, despite the frequent involvement of guest nations. Colombia also made it to the final in 2000 but lost to Canada, while Brazil made it to the final twice but lost both times.
