2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Lore & Background

CONCACAF announced the 15 host venues for the 2023 Gold Cup on April 10, 2023. They included a mix of soccer-specific stadiums primarily occupied by Major League Soccer teams and larger American football stadiums. BMO Field in Toronto was the sole venue outside of the United States; it was the first Canadian stadium to host the Gold Cup since the 2015 edition. The final draw was held on April 14, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, completed alongside the draw for the preliminary round. The teams were split into four pots based on the CONCACAF Rankings of March 2023. The four teams of Pot 1 were automatically seeded, with the United States in Group A as the title holders, Mexico in Group B, Costa Rica in Group C, and Canada in Group D. Guests Qatar were placed in Pot 4 alongside the three winners of the preliminary round.

In Their Own Story

The stadium hummed with a particular kind of silence—the kind that falls when 70,000 voices hold their breath in unison. The ball crossed the line, and for a moment the crowd simply stared. No roar. No celebration. Just a collective exhale that sounded, somehow, like a question. In the tunnel, the boots came off one by one, the cleats scraping against concrete. Someone whispered a word of comfort. No one answered. Outside, the American summer heat pressed against the glass, and the scoreboard glowed its indifferent white. A defending champion, gone. A semifinal, lost. And somewhere in the stands, a kid in a green-and-white jersey was already Googling who Panama's striker was.

Reader's Guide

The tournament featured a group stage and knockout stage. In the knockout stage, if the scores were equal when normal playing time expired, extra time was played for two periods of 15 minutes each, followed by a penalty shoot-out if required. As with every tournament since 2005 (except 2015), there was no third place play-off. There were 105 goals scored in 31 matches, for an average of 3.39 goals per match. A player or team official was automatically suspended for the next match for receiving a red card or receiving two yellow cards in two matches; yellow cards expired after the completion of the quarter-finals. The following Gold Cup awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament: the Golden Ball, Golden Boot, Golden Glove, Goal of the Tournament, Mark of a Fighter, and Fair Play Trophy.

Did You Know?

• Mexico won a record ninth Gold Cup title in 2023.
• The United States were the defending champions but lost to Panama in the semi-finals.
• Canada co-hosted the tournament for the first time since 2015.
• The final was played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
• Qatar participated as a guest team in the 2023 Gold Cup.