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Gold Cup United States to open group play with Haiti Peru in Orange Bowl.NEW YORK (Thursday, October 21, 1999) -- The United States will open up its quest for the CONCACAF 2000 Gold Cup in Miami's Orange Bowl on February 12 against Haiti.The 12 teams competing for the top prize of the confederation representing North America, Central America and the Caribbean, were divided into four groups of three in a drawing in New York this afternoon. Also in the U.S. group is South American power Peru. In the first round, two groups will be based in Miami, one in San Diego and one in Los Angeles. The top two teams in each group will play in the quarterfinals in Miami and San Diego on February 19 and 20, with the semifinals in San Diego and Los Angeles on February 23 and 24. The championship match will be at the Los Angeles Coliseum on February 27. The U.S. opens the tournament on Saturday, February 12 at 6 p.m.(ET) against Haiti in the Orange Bowl in Miami. It plays its second group match against Peru Wednesday, February 16, again in the Orange Bowl at 8 p.m. If the U.S. finishes one of the top two in its group, it will play a quarterfinal match, again at Miami's Orange Bowl on Saturday, February 19 at 3 or 5 p.m. The four groups are made up as follows: Groupings are as follows:
"By seeding the teams throughout, we kept apart the teams from our three regions -- North America, Central America and the Caribbean -- and the three invited teams from other Confederations," CONCACAF secretary general Chuck Blazer said. "We also looked at achieving a competitive balance in forming the groups and in specific local interest in allocating the groups." All games, except the semi finals and final, will be played as doubleheaders at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, and the Los Angeles Coliseum. |
