CONCACAF unveils Gold Cup group pairings and complete match schedule

World Cup quarterfinalist Costa Rica will face Jamaica in its CONCACAF Gold Cup opener July 8 at StubHub Center in Carson. That Group B game will begin at 5 p.m., to be followed by Canada-El Salvador at 7:30.

The defending champion United States, which is in Group A, will play its opener at Toyota Stadium in Dallas on July 7 against the winner of this month’s play-in game between Honduras and French Guiana. Panama will play Haiti in the tournament opener earlier on July 7 in Dallas.

Mexico anchors Group C, which will begin play at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9. Mexico will meet Cuba in the second game there following the opener, in which Trinidad and Tobago faces Guatemala.

More is at stake in this summer’s tournament than in previous Gold Cups. If the U.S. repeats as champion, it will clinch the region’s berth in the 2017 Confederations Cup in Russia, a kind of World Cup rehearsal staged a year before the FIFA event. If the U.S. does not win, it will meet this year’s Gold Cup champion in a playoff to determine the Confederations Cup qualifier.

Tickets to all Gold Cup matches will be available online starting on March 19 at 10 a.m. local time in all markets.

CONCACAF GOLD CUP SCHEDULE

All times PDT

Group A

July 7 (Toyota Stadium, Dallas)

2 p.m.--Panama vs. Haiti (FOX Sports 2/UDN)

4:30 p.m.--U.S. vs. Honduras/French Guiana (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)

July 10 (Gillette Stadium, Boston)

3 p.m.--Honduras/French Guiana vs. Panama (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)

5:30 p.m.--U.S. vs. Haiti (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)

July 13 (Sporting Park, Kansas City, Mo.)

4 p.m.--Haiti vs. Honduras/French Guiana (FOX Sports 1/UDN)

6:30 p.m.--Panama vs. U.S. (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)

Group B

July 8 (StubHub Center)

5 p.m.--Costa Rica vs. Jamaica (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)

7:30 p.m.--El Salvador vs. Canada (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)

July 11 (BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston)

3:30 p.m.--Jamaica vs. Canada (FOX Sports 2/Univision)

6 p.m.--Costa Rica vs. El Salvador (FOX Sports 2/Univision)

July 14 (BMO Field, Toronto)

3 p.m.--Jamaica vs. El Salvador (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)

5:30 p.m.--Canada vs. Costa Rica (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)

Group C

July 9 (Soldier Field, Chicago)

4 p.m.--Trinidad and Tobago vs. Guatemala (FOX Sports 2/UDN)

6:30 p.m.--Mexico vs. Cuba (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)

July 12 (University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.)

3:30 p.m.--Trinidad and Tobago vs. Cuba (FOX Sports 2/Univision)

6 p.m.--Guatemala vs. Mexico (FOX Sports 2/Univision)

July 15 (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, N.C.)

3 p.m.--Cuba vs. Guatemala (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)

5:30 p.m.--Mexico vs. Trinidad and Tobago (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)

Quarterfinals

July 18 (M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore)

2 p.m. & 5 p.m.

1A vs. 3B/C (FOX/Univision)

2A vs. 1B (FOX Sports 2/Univision)

July 19 (Met Life Stadium, New York)

1:30 p.m. & 4:30 p.m.

1C-3A/B (FOX Sports 1/Univision)

2C-2B (FOX Sports 1/Univision)

Semifinals

July 22 (Georgia Dome, Atlanta)

3 p.m.--SF 1 (FOX Sports 1/UniMas)

6 p.m.--SF 2 (FOX Sports 2/UniMas)

Third-place game

July 25 (PPL Park, Philadelphia)

1 p.m. (FOX Sports 2/Univision)

Championship final

July 26 (Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia)

4:30 p.m. (FOX Sports 1/Univision)