CONCACAF avoids Northeast, West Coast for Gold Cup

<p>MIAMI &mdash; CONCACAF is avoiding the large population areas of the Northeast and West Coast for the Gold Cup, a championship many top players are likely to skip.</p>
<p>The New York area, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., were omitted from the venues announced Thursday, as were Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago.</p>
<p>The Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Association Football said matches will be played at: Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Frisco, and Houston in Texas; Glendale, Arizona; Kansas City, Kansas; and Orlando, Florida, in additional to the final on Aug. 1 in Las Vegas, which was previously announced.</p>
<p>CONCACAF did not say which matches would be at which venues for the tournament, which starts July 10, but did say groups will be based in hubs to minimize travel.</p>
<p>U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter has said he will allow his Europe-based players to skip the tournament and take vacation ahead of the European club seasons and the start of World Cup qualifying on Sept. 2.</p>
<p>Top players will be used for the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals on June 3 in Denver. The U.S. plays Honduras, and Mexico meets Costa Rica, with the winners meeting for the title on June 6.</p>
<p>The United States is in Gold Cup Group B with Canada, Martinique and the winner of qualifying among Haiti, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda and Barbados.</p>
<p>Defending champion Mexico is in Group A with El Salvador, Curaçao and the winner of qualifying among Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, Cuba and French Guiana.</p>
<p>Costa Rica, Jamaica and Suriname are in Group C, with the winner of qualifying among Guatemala, Guyana, Guadeloupe and Bahamas.</p>
<p>Honduras, Panama, Grenada and invited guest Qatar, next year’s World Cup host, are in Group D.</p>
<p>Qualifying is scheduled for Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from July 2-6,</p>
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