Golden Jaguars to know fate today when official draw for Gold Cup takes place

The Golden Jaguars will know their fate today when the official draw for the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup which is set  for June 15th-July 7th, is staged in Los Angeles.

The Jaguars qualified for their maiden Gold Cup with a 2-1 victory over Belize in the final qualifier of the CONCACAF Nations League Qualifiers on March 23rd at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.

The event will feature 16 clubs battling in an initial group stage consisting of four groups of four. The top two finishers from each group will advance to the knockout rounds. 15 venues in the USA will be utilised for the staging of the event, with Costa Rica and Jamaica scheduled to host matches, a first in the competition’s history.

The National Stadium in San Jose will serve as the site for the Central American matches, with Independence Park in Kingston, Jamaica, the venue for the Caribbean matches.

According to CONCACAF, the winner of the Gold Cup will play against the United States of America [USA], who are defending champion following their 2017 triumph, in a one-match play-off fixture to decide the qualifying country to participate in the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup. In the event that the Americans secure their seventh title, they will automatically qualify for the Confederations Cup by virtue of being the 2017 and 2019 champions.

Mexico, who were winners of the 2015 edition, are the most successful team in the tournament’s history, recording a record seven titles. Canada is the only other winner of the tournament in 2000.