Who competes in the Gold Cup?
By Adam Stocker
Here are the 12 teams who will compete in the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The 2017 Gold Cup will feature 12 teams from CONCACAF, the FIFA governing body for North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The North American region receives three bids, while Central America and the Caribbean are each represented by four teams. The 12th team was determined in a playoff between the fifth-place teams in Central America and the Caribbean.
Canada, Mexico and the United States all qualified automatically through the North American zone. Canada won the tournament in 2000 but have had very little success since. Mexico are the current title holders, after defeating Jamaica for their seventh title in 2015. The United States have won the competition five times, with their last trophy coming in 2013.
The six teams from Central America competed in the 2017 Copa Centroamericana in January to qualify for the Gold Cup. Honduras won the tournament with five wins and a draw. At the Gold Cup, Honduras have never won but finished second in 1991. The other three teams to qualify were Panama, El Salvador and Costa Rica. Panama’s best finish was in 2005 and 2013 when they lost in the final. El Salvador have never advanced past the quarterfinals of the Gold Cup, losing at that stage four times. Costa Rica’s best finish was in 2002, when they lost the final.
Caracao, Martinique, French Guiana and Jamaica qualified as the top four finishers in the Caribbean Cup. Curacao have never appeared in the Gold Cup but did finish third in the tournament’s predecessor (as Netherlands Antilles), the CONCACAF Championship, in 1963 and 1969. Martinique’s best finish was in 2002 when they reached the quarterfinals. This is the first time French Guiana have qualified for the tournament. Jamaica were the runners-up in 2015, their best finish to date in the competition.
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The final team to qualify for the Gold Cup was Nicaragua, who defeated Haiti in the fifth-place playoff between Central America and the Caribbean. After losing the first leg in Port Au Price 3-1, Nicaragua returned to Managua and won 3-0. The only appearance for Nicaragua in the Gold Cup was in 2009, when they failed to get out of the group stage.