Costa Rica’s men’s national soccer team will open its 2019 Gold Cup campaign against Nicaragua at the National Stadium in La Sabana on June 16.
The announcement was made as part of the tournament’s group and schedule reveal on Wednesday afternoon.
Costa Rica will become the first Central American country to host Gold Cup matches when La Sele faces Nicaragua as part of a doubleheader. That day, the National Stadium will also welcome Haiti vs. Bermuda, the other two members of Group B.
The full Group B schedule is as follows:
- June 16 (National Stadium of Costa Rica)
- Haiti vs. Bermuda
- Costa Rica vs. Nicaragua
- June 20 (Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas)
- Nicaragua vs. Haiti
- Costa Rica vs. Bermuda
- June 24 (Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey)
- Bermuda vs. Nicaragua
- Haiti vs. Costa Rica
The Group B winner will face the runner-up from Group A, which contains Mexico, Canada, Martinique and Cuba.
Group C is comprised of Honduras, Jamaica, El Salvador and Curaçao. Though Honduras is the group’s seeded team, Jamaica will have the advantage of hosting the June 17 match against the Central American side.
Group D contains the United States, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana. (U.S. fans might have cringed at that announcement, as the North Americans were eliminated from 2018 World Cup contention after a stunning loss to Trinidad and Tobago.)
The top two teams from each group will advance to a single-elimination quarterfinal, and the tournament winners will be determined July 7 in Chicago.
The United States are the reigning champions, while Costa Rica has never won the tournament.
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