By: Igor Mello / Asst. Sports Director
International soccer is coming to Southwest 8th street this summer.
On March 9, the 2011 Gold Cup group stages and schedules were announced by the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. The top nations in CONCACAF will compete for the right to participate in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.
The Gold Cup will take place from June 5 through the 25, with the champion being crowned on Jun. 25 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Out of the 13 venues, FIU Stadium will play host to two Group B stage matches. Jamaica will face Guatemala, followed by Grenada versus Honduras. All matches will be played on June 10 at FIU Stadium.
“We are extremely excited for this year’s Gold Cup and are completely confident that it will be the best ever,” CONCACAF General Secretary Chuck Blazer said. “We are bringing our fans the region’s best football in fantastic venues – with a lot on the line. It is truly a can’t-miss event.”
The Jamaican national team is no stranger to FIU Stadium. “The Reggae Boyz” played at FIU Stadium in the last installment of the Gold Cup in 2009. 17,269 spectators attended Jamaica’s Gold Cup match against El Salvador in 2009, where Jamaica edged El Salvador 1-0. Jamaica, winners of the 2010 Caribbean Championship, have appeared in the Gold Cup seven times. Their best result was a third place finish in the 1993 Gold Cup.
Guatemala will be making their eighth Gold Cup appearance, second to only Mexico in tournament appearances, having last won the tournament in 1967. Their last appearance was in 2007, where Guatemala fell short to Canada 3-0 in the quarterfinals.
Jamaica leads the head-to-head matchup against Guatemala, having defeated “La Azul y Blanco” eight times with three draws, respectively.
Honduras and Grenada, who will play in the second tap at FIU Stadium, have faced off against each other before. It will be a rematch of their 2009 Gold Cup game, where Honduras routed the “Spice Boys” 4-0 in Group B.
It’ll be Grenada’s second appearance in the continental tournament. The “Spice Boys” have lost all three matches, failing to score a goal and were outscored 0-10 during their 2009 campaign.
Honduras has not won the Gold Cup since 1981, but had one of their best tournaments in nearly a decade in 2009 where “Loa Catrachos” placed third in 2009.
The winner of Group B will play clinch a quarterfinal spot in June 19 in Washington, D.C. The runner-up of Group B will play in Jun. 18 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Mexico will look to defend their 2009 title in Group A as they’ll pair up against El Salvador, Costa Rica and Cuba. The U.S. Men’s National team, winners of three out the last five Gold Cups, will play in Group C against Canada, Panama and Guadalupe.
U.S.’s second group match against Panama on Jun. 11, will be held 280 miles north of FIU Stadium, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
A limited weeklong pre-sale is underway until Mar. 16. Fans can call the FIU Stadium box office for further information. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Mar. 16 on CONCACAF’s website, www.goldcup.org.
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