The field for the Concacaf W Gold Cup is set.
The Gold Cup — the first for women’s national teams in Conacaf — will be played from February 17 to March 10, 2024. In addition to four teams from the South American confederation CONMEBOL joining the fray — Brazil, Colombia, Argentina and Paraguay — there will be eight teams from Concacaf competing.
The Gold Cup will begin with a preliminary round featuring six teams. These six teams placed second in their ‘Road to the Concacaf W Gold Cup’ qualification groups. Haiti, El Salvador, Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Puerto Rico will face off against each other based on their second place finishes.
The matches will be a single-elimination contest and will take place on the tournament start date, Feb. 17. The opening Gold Cup games will be:
M1: Haiti (1) vs. Puerto Rico (6)
M2: El Salvador (2) vs. Guatemala (5)
M3: Guyana (3) vs. Dominican Republic (4)
How teams qualified for the Concacaf W Gold Cup
The winners of those three matches will join the already-qualified group stage participants. In addition to the four CONMEBOL teams, Concacaf already has five teams qualified for the Gold Cup.
The United States women’s national team qualified after winning the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, which served as a qualifier for three tournaments: the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the 2024 Olympics and the 2024 Gold Cup. The Canadian women’s national team also qualified after winning the Concacaf Olympic playoff against Jamaica.
Winning their respective groups were Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica, earning them an automatic qualification to the Group Stage.
Jamaica will not be competing in the Concacaf W Gold Cup after coming in last in their qualifying group, behind Panama (7 points) and Guatemala (5 points). Each team played each other twice, giving each nation four matches.
Mexico went perfect in their qualification group, earning wins against Trinidad and Tobago (6-0 and 1-0) and Puerto Rico (3-0 and 2-1). Puerto Rico’s lone win against Trinidad and Tobago pushes them into a play-in round.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica exacted revenge on Haiti to earn a bid to the Gold Cup group stage. In the first of two matches, Haiti claimed a 1-0 victory, thanks to a goal from Nérilia Mondésir. However, in the recent international window, Costa Rica took down Haiti, 2-1. Gloriana Villalobos and 19-year-old Alajuelense striker Alexa Herrera scored for the Ticas.
With the teams tied on points, it came down to goal differential. This group also featured St. Kitts and Nevis, a smaller national team. In their first meeting, Costa Rica and Haiti both put up 11 goals against St. Kitts and Nevis. However, in the second meetings, Haiti scored 13 goals while Costa Rica tallied 19 goals — six alone scored by María Paula Salas — giving the Ticas the edge on goal differential.
All match replays can be viewed on the Concacaf YouTube channel. Below is a reminder graphic of the qualification process to the Gold Cup.
When and where is the Concacaf W Gold Cup?
The Concacaf W Gold Cup will be held in four locations from February 17 until March 10. The tournament will feature at BMO Stadium and Dignity Health Sports Park in the Los Angeles, California, area, along with Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, and Houston, Texas.
When the locations were announced ahead of the November/December international window, Victor Montagliani, Concacaf president and FIFA vice president, said the tournament will be “high-quality” and looks to showcase “some of the best teams and players in the world.”
“I want to personally thank the four cities and venues for their commitment to Concacaf and women’s football. They will all make tremendous hosts for a competition celebrating the best of women’s football,”Montagliani said.
The draw for the Concacaf W Gold Cup will be held on Monday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m. ET. It will air on the Concacaf YouTube channel.
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