Guyana’s path to their second appearance in the Gold Cup will go through Guatemala, as the Golden Jaguars, the senior men’s team, were drawn against the Central American outfit last evening during the inaugural 2021 Concacaf Draw, which was staged in Miami.
The Guyanese who are ranked 19th in Concaf and 166th under the FIFA umbrella, will now match skills with the 1967 Concacaf Championship victor, the precursor to the now Gold Cup, for a place in the second round of qualifiers. Guatemala, who emerged as winner of their Nations League group-C pool, is ranked ninth in the region and 130th internationally.
Meanwhile, the first round will also witness Haiti battling Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago against Montserrat, Cuba opposing French Guiana, Guadeloupe tackling Bahamas and Bermuda engaging Barbados.
Following the end of the first round, Guyana, if victorious against Guatemala, will lock horns with the winner of the Guadeloupe and Bahamas tie for a place in group-C of the actual championship, which is scheduled for the period of July 10th-August 1st.
The preliminary round, which will be contested utilizing a direct elimination format, will be staged from July 2nd-6th in a centralized location in the United States.
Meanwhile, Concacaf also staged the draw for the group round of the main tournament. Group-A comprises defending champion Mexico, El Salvador, Curacao and Preliminary Winner of Section Nine, while group-B features hosts USA, Canada, Martinique and Preliminary Winner of Section Seven.
Group-C consists of Costa Rica, Jamaica, Suriname and Preliminary Winner of Section Eight, with group-D containing Honduras, Panama, Grenada and Qatar. Qatar, the Asian Confederation Cup champion, was assigned to group-D as a guest participant.
Upon the completion of the Gold Cup Group Stage, eight teams will advance to a newly formatted Knockout Phase in which teams on opposite sides of the bracket will meet from the Quarterfinals onwards. This is a change from previous Gold Cup tournaments when teams only competed against opponents on the same side of the bracket until the Final.
The Golden Jaguars recorded their maiden appearance in the 2019 edition. The Guyanese finished third in their pool, following a record of two losses and a draw. Guyana went down to hosts and eventual runner-up the United States 4-0, before going down to Panama 4-2. In their final match, the Golden Jaguars drew 1-1 with Trinidad & Tobago.
