With the Concacaf showpiece atking place this summer, Goal rounds up all the details that you need to know ahead of the tournament
The 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup will be the 15th edition of the tournament, the biennial international men's football championship of the North, Central American, and Caribbean region overseen by Concacaf.
This summer's edition will be held in the United States, with Costa Rica and a to-be-confirmed Caribbean country also hosting two games in the first round of matches in Groups B and C.
The winner of the Concacaf Gold Cup will play against the United States, who are defending champions of the 2017 edition, in the 2019 Concacaf Cup – a one-match play-off fixture to decide the qualifying country to participate in the 2021 Confederations Cup. In the event that the USMNT win the 2019 Gold Cup, they will automatically qualify for the Confederations Cup as 2017 and 2019 champions.
With the qualification stages set to conclude in March, here is everything you need to know ahead of this summer's tournament.
Concacaf Gold Cup 2019 qualified teams
Among the 16 participating teams, six qualify directly after participating in the 2018 World Cup qualifying Hexagonal, while the remaining 10 teams qualify through the 2019–20 Concacaf Nations League qualifying (which is to conclude in March 2019).
Concacaf Gold Cup 2019 host cities
In 2019, the Concacaf Gold Cup will be held in 15 different venues across 12 different cities in the United States and Costa Rica, and it will be the first time that the Gold Cup will be held in Central America – with all previous matches having taken place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Of the 15 venues, 11 will stage at least two group stage games. The breakdown of venues and games can be seen in the table below.
Where is the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup final?
The final of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup will be held at Soldier Field in Chicago, which is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears. It has a capacity of 61,500 and the final will be held on July 7, 2019.
It has previously served as the home venue for major sports teams, including the Chicago Cardinals, University of Notre Dame football, MLS side Chicago Fire, as well as games from the 1994 World Cup, the 1999 Women's World Cup, and several Concacaf Gold Cup games.
In 1968, Soldier Field hosted the first Games of the Special Olympics and it is the third-smallest stadium in the NFL.
2019 Concacaf Gold Cup format
This year's edition of the Gold Cup will feature 16 teams, an increase from the previous 12, broken into four groups of four teams each.
The winner and runner-up of each group will automatically progress to the knockout stages, with the bottom two group finishers being eliminated.
Concacaf Gold Cup 2019 group stage
The match dates were confirmed by Concacaf on October 9, 2018, with the rest of the qualified teams to be confirmed in March 2019.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals.
Concacaf Gold Cup 2019 tickets
Specific details on how to purchase tickets to the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup are set to be released soon, though in the meantime, supporters can head to the Concacaf official website and sign up to be the first to hear all the major announcements.
Who are past winners of the Concacaf Gold Cup?
The United States head into the tournament as defending champions, two years after beating Jamaica 2-1 in the final.
Mexico were winners of the 2015 edition when they also beat Jamaica in the final, this time in a 3-1 victory, and are expected to be favourites for this year's edition. El Tri are the most successful team in the tournament's history, picking up a record seven titles from 1993 to 2014, and were third-place finishers in 2017.
Canada are one-time winners of the Concacaf Gold Cup, winning the tournament in 2000 – and these three countries are the only nations to have ever won a Concacaf Gold Cup.
Panama are twice runners-up, in 2005 and 2013, alongside Jamaica and Brazil, while the likes of Honduras, Costa Rica and Colombia have all made the final on one occasion each.