The 2025 Gold Cup kicks off tomorrow. The tournament’s first match will see defending champions Mexico square off with the Dominican Republic at Sofi Stadium. This historic Concacaf competition usually highlights the best nations in the region and their players’ ability to play for each other and their country with pride.
Gold Cup Preview
This Gold Cup is set one year before the 2026 World Cup. It will be hosted by the three strongest Concacaf nations: Canada, Mexico, and the USA. As many as five other Concacaf nations could join them in the newly expanded 48-team format, so this tournament will be one where nations can visualize their goals for next year, regardless of who is on the pitch for them.
Will we see the passion and dedication needed for a month-long tournament? Three group stage matches and three knockout round ties stand between the 16 nations and the chance to win the Gold Cup! Who will make the most of this opportunity?
In the article above, we examined Groups A and B. Now is the time to examine the eight nations that will compete in Groups C and D!
Group C
Group C sees Panama (ranked 33rd in the world) as the dark horse to win the tournament; the enigma that is Jamaica (ranked 63rd in the world), a nation with something to prove, Guatemala (ranked 106th in the world), and a Guadeloupe side that is not FIFA-sanctioned and, therefore, doesn’t have a world ranking. Here’s a look at the matches in Group C.
- Panama vs Guadeloupe | Monday, June 16 | 7:00 pm EST
- Jamaica vs Guatemala | Monday, June 16 | 10:00 pm EST
- Jamaica vs Guadeloupe | Friday, June 20 | 7:45 pm EST
- Guatamala vs Panama | Friday, June 20 | 10:00 pm EST
- Guadeloupe vs Guatemala | Tuesday, June 24 | 7:00 pm EST
- Panama vs Jamaica | Tuesday, June 24 | 7:00 pm EST
Panama is the favorite of Group C. They round out the “top four” of Concacaf with Mexico, Canada, and the USA; anything less than winning this group would hinder that status and hurt their chances at winning the Gold Cup. Jamaica is the likely runner-up in this group. They have Premier League talent on the field, but can that translate to gritty Concacaf soccer?
Guatemala is a team looking to make that next step in Concacaf. In their last four matches, they have played nations in this tournament, winning once, drawing once, and losing twice; they’ll have to step it up to best teams like Jamaica and Panama. Guadeloupe is the true underdog. Soccer’s governing body does not sanction them, but Concacaf allows them to take this stage; can they shock everyone and get some positive results at the Gold Cup?
Group D
The final Gold Cup group features the USMNT (ranked 16th in the world), joined by guest nations Saudi Arabia (ranked 58th in the world), Haiti (ranked 83rd in the world), and Trinidad & Tobago (ranked 100th in the world). This Group is an interesting mix of nations looking for a spark; let’s look at the Group D matches.
- USA vs Trinidad & Tobago | Sunday, June 15 | 6:00 pm EST
- Haiti vs Saudi Arabia | Sunday, June 15 | 8:15 pm EST
- Trinidad & Tobago vs Haiti | Thursday, June 19 | 6:45 pm EST
- Saudi Arabia vs USA | Thursday, June 19 | 9:15 pm EST
- Saudi Arabia vs Trinidad & Tobago | Sunday, June 22 | 7:00 pm EST
- USA vs Haiti | Sunday, June 22 | 7:00 pm EST
This has been a very tough time for the USA; they have another “C Team” at this Gold Cup, and tensions are running high as results have been mainly negative this past year. Can they find a way to avoid failure, which would mean at least making the final of this tournament? As much as it doesn’t make sense that there’s a guest in a Concacaf tournament, Saudi Arabia is likely the second-best nation in this group. They are faltering a bit in their AFC World Cup qualification, falling short of an automatic bid at the moment; can they use this tournament to right their ship?
The two other nations in this group, Haiti and Trinidad & Tobago, will look to shock the region, something they’ve both done before. Haiti is tenacious; they have lost only once in the last year. Unfortunately, that was this past week in a 5-1 thrashing. The Haitians will be hungry to show that was a blip on the radar and look to make a knockout round run. Trinidad & Tobago have been giant killers in the past, but with six losses in the last year, they will need to muster something profound to get out of the group.
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