Concacaf’s biennial international championship – the Gold Cup – starts Saturday with two games in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. El Salvador faces Curaçao at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, then reigning tournament champion Mexico takes on Trinidad and Tobago at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
On Sunday, Canada and the U.S. hit the pitch at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. After Canada takes on Martinique, the USMNT – recent victors in the Concacaf Nations League – returns to action against Haiti.
Of Major League Soccer’s 27 teams, 24 will be impacted by player absences due to either the Concacaf Gold Cup or the Olympic Games in Tokyo, where the men’s soccer competition kicks off on July 22. The only teams without any players representing their countries are Austin FC, New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake. Four teams – the Columbus Crew, Houston Dynamo, Los Angeles Galaxy and Toronto FC – lead the league with five players absent. This will be a storyline to follow in the league over the next 2-3 weeks as those teams must find ways to account for the unavailable personnel.
