The 17th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup kicks off on Saturday. As tradition dictates, the much-anticipated event will take place in the USA. However, one match is going to happen outside the USA, which will be in Toronto, marking Canada’s debut in the tournament against Guadeloupe.
The USA will be without its star footballers, including Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Tyler Adams, Sergio Dest, Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson, Folarin Balogun, Tim Weah Christian Pulisic, and Ricardo Pepi, relying heavily on a team where 16 out of the 23 selected players compete in the MLS.
On the other hand, Canada is also missing some of their decent players like Jonathan David, Tajon Buchanan, Cyle Larin, and Alphonso Davies, and to mention Mexico’s missing players this season, Hirving Lozano and Raul Jimenez. And to add one more with that, Costa Rica will also have to go without their Keylor Navas in what would have been his last Gold Cup.
USA Becoming the Home of soccer
Despite of the absence of star players in the tournament, it will be the first of several big soccer events that the United States will host, along with the 2024 Copa America, the 2025 Gold Cup, and the 2026 World Cup.
Additionally, FIFA confirmed on Friday that the US will host the inaugural major Club World Cup in 2025, solidifying its position as a football superpower. In addition to that, Lionel Messi’s blockbuster move to Inter Miami has added extra momentum to the league, and indeed, soccer in the United States is taking a whole new color.
The US men’s national team, under the interim coach B. J. Callahan, has just been crowned CONCACAF Nations League champions after defeating arch-rivals Mexico with a convincing 3-0 victory in the semi-finals before triumphing over Canada 2-0 in the final, securing their second Nations League title.
