By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 12, 2019) US Soccer Players - As the home to a few huge, powerful nations and a litany of far smaller and less wealthy ones, Concacaf has always faced a large and fairly unique challenge. The confederation's trickiest task is to help its giants grow and prosper in their pursuit of the world's elite while still respecting and elevating the many minnows in . . .
Concacaf alters World Cup qualifying format for 2022
Concacaf announced changes to World Cup qualifying for the 2022 cycle on Wednesday. With limited time to schedule qualifying, Concacaf is opting to enter the top six nations in the region direclty into the Hexagonal round where the top three finishers will advance to the 2022 World Cup. The rest of the region will play to meet the 4th-place Hexagonal finisher for the final World Cup qualifying . . .
Concacaf’s next move
By J Hutcherson (Jul 9, 2019) US Soccer Players - The final of the 2019 Gold Cup highlighted exactly what the organizers seem to want by design. Mexico vs the USMNT in a packed NFL stadium that ended with both teams looking like they could've taken the trophy. That it was the first time since 2011 that the bracket worked to advance the two biggest teams in the region is a success. So are all the . . .
Preview: The 2019 Gold Cup semifinals
By Clemente Lisi – PHILADELPHIA, PA (Jul 1, 2019) US Soccer Players – The Gold Cup enters the semifinal stage with several key storylines. At a tournament that has seen plenty of upsets so far, we head to the final four. The teams left standing at this tournament, Mexico, Haiti, Jamaica and the United States, says a lot about the current state of Concacaf. After the confederation instituted the . . .
Surprise in Group B
The soccer news starts with an upset on the final day of group B at the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup. With Haiti and Costa Rica entering the finale tied on six points, the winner would take the group and avoid playing Mexico in the quarterfinals. That turned out to be Haiti, beating Costa Rica 2-1 to setup a date in the knockout round with Canada. Costa Rica led from a 13th minute Alvaro Saborio goal, . . .
The USMNT, Mexico, and Concacaf’s new schedule
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (June 19, 2019) US Soccer Players - Sixteen teams. Games in Costa Rica and Jamaica. Qualification through the new Nations League for two-thirds of the field. Each is a new element of the Gold Cup in 2019, meant to improve the tournament. For a region that is light on World Cup-caliber nations and overly dependent on the United States for hosting duties, these . . .
Preview: Everybody else at the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (June 14, 2019) US Soccer Players - Starting Saturday, Concacaf will add its semi-annual championship to the pile of international summer soccer already underway. In Group A of the 2019 Gold Cup, Canada faces Martinique in Pasadena in the first game of the day, with Mexico opening its quest to reclaim the Gold Cup title against Cuba in the second game of the . . .
FIFA’s World Cup expansion and Concacaf’s problem
Depending on who you ask, World Cup expansion for 2022 is either a done deal or as close to that as possible. In other words, a little over a month out from the vote in Paris it now seems likelier that it does happen than it doesn't. That makes the obvious technical questions things that FIFA will deal with in time for the tournament. Top on that list might be figuring out where to stage the . . .
USMNT U-17s kick off qualifying with a new coach and old questions
By Charles Boehm – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 26, 2019) US Soccer Players - The US Under-17 National Team begins their journey to the U-17 World Cup next week when the Concacaf U-17 Championship kicks off at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The regional qualifying tournament is the first big event under new coach Raphael Wicky. It’s also a timely signpost for a keenly-watched age level whose . . .
FIFA keeps pushing for a 48 team World Cup
We start the soccer news with FIFA president Gianni Infantino stumping for World Cup expansion. Like an good politician, Infantino is making sure he has the support for a 48-team World Cup in time for the FIFA Congress in Paris on June 5. That means finding at least one other country willing to host games in 2022. So far, that hasn't been easy. AP's Rob Harris reports that Infantino is working to . . .
