COLUMBUS, Ohio - U.S. Men's National Team manager Bruce Arena has named Crew defender Frankie Hejduk to the 23-man roster that will compete in the 2005 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the regional championship of North America, Central America and the Caribbean.
The 12-team tournament runs from July 6-24 in six cities across the United States. The U.S. will compete in Group B along with Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba, opening the tournament July 7 against Cuba at Qwest Field in Seattle. Kickoff is set for 10:30 p.m. (ET), and the match will be broadcast live on Telefutura. The U.S. continues group play against Canada on July 9 in Seattle (4:30 p.m. ET, Telefutura), then heads East to finish out the opening round against Costa Rica at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. (7 p.m. ET, Telefutura). Fans can follow all the U.S. matches live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.
The U.S. team will begin to assemble June 26 in Portland, Ore., and will train at Nike World Headquarters. The group will move to Seattle on July 3.
Along with Hejduk for the U.S., two other Crew players have been called-in by their respective countries. Trinidad & Tobago has called in Cornell Glen and Panama has called in Luis Gallardo. A fourth player, Guatemalan Mario Rodriguez, was on the initial roster for Guatemala but will remain with The Crew unless Guatemala has injury problems.
Trinidad faces Honduras on July 6 at the Orange Bowl in Miami (9 p.m. ET), Panama on July 9 at the Orange Bowl (7 p.m. ET), and Colombia on July 11 at the Orange Bowl (7 p.m. ET). Panama takes on Colombia on July 6 at the Orange Bowl (7 p.m. ET), Trinidad on July 9 at the Orange Bowl (7 p.m. ET), and Honduras on July 11 at the Orange Bowl (9 p.m. ET).
The U.S. has appeared in all seven Gold Cup competitions since 1991, capturing two titles and reaching at least the semifinals in six of seven events. The U.S. enters the 2005 tournament with an unblemished 16-0-0 record in group play, having posted shutouts in 19 of 31 all-time Gold Cup games.
Should the U.S. advance as the first or second place finisher in the group, their quarterfinal matchup would take place July 16 in Foxboro, with the semifinals slated for July 21 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The 2005 Gold Cup Final will also be played at Giants Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for July 24 at 3 p.m. (ET).
The Gold Cup is being televised nationwide on the Univision family of networks: Univision, Galavision and Telefutura. Check local listings for details. For credential information, contact Stephen Torres at 212.835.6854 or visit the CONCACAF website at www.concacaf.com.
