U.S. soccer team not California-bound in Gold Cup pairings

Although CONCACAF remains officially silent, details have begun to leak out about this summer’s Gold Cup soccer tournament.

The U.S. is expected to be placed in a group with Belize, Costa Rica and Cuba. The Americans, who lost the 2011 Gold Cup final to Mexico at the Rose Bowl, will play its first game with Belize in Portland, Ore., on July 9, then meet Cuba in Salt Lake four days later before closing group play against Costa Rica in Hartford, Conn.

Group A will include Canada, Martinique, defending champion Mexico and Panama and will open the tournament at the Rose Bowl on July 7 with Canada meeting Martinique and Mexico facing Panama. That group will then move on to CenturyLink Field in Seattle before closing in Denver.

Group B, which has El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago, will play at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.; Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., and BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.

The quarterfinals are expected to be played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and M&T; Bank Stadium in Baltimore. The semis will be at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, ahead of the July 28 final at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The 2011 tournament ended at the Rose Bowl, with Mexico beating the U.S.

CONCACAF has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday in Chicago to formalize the pairings and schedule.

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