(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Report: St. Paul to host 2019 U.S. men's soccer Gold Cup opener
A major soccer match featuring the United States men's national team is reportedly headed to St. Paul next June at Allianz Field, the new home of Minnesota United.
May 14, 2018 at 2:19PM
A major soccer match featuring the United States men's national team is reportedly headed to St. Paul next June at the new home of Minnesota United, Allianz Field.
SI.com is reporting that the U.S. will play its Gold Cup opener on June 18, 2019 at Allianz. An opponent hasn't been named yet, but United has a news conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup is an international tournament featuring teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The 2019 tournament, per SI, is expected to be highly competitive, with participating countries "sending their best possible teams."
The match in St. Paul will be the first major U.S. men's match since it fell disappointingly short of reaching this summer's World Cup.
Perhaps just as significantly, the Gold Cup match could be a test run of sorts. SI notes that Allianz could become the home of the U.S. vs. Mexico World Cup qualifying match held every four years.
Landing that recurring match would be a huge gain for the new stadium, which is slated to open early next year in time for the start of the Loons' Major League Soccer season, but getting the Gold Cup match next year is already a really good start.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
