Guatemala begins to occupy the space left by Curaçao due to the cases of contagion of COVID-19 in its delegation
It is official that the Guatemalan National Team will be in the 2021 Gold Cup. This has been confirmed by the Confederation of North America, Central America and the Caribbean Football – Concacaf – through the press release released this Friday due to the withdrawal of the Curaçao National Team by the contagion of COVID-19 in his delegation.
From this account, Guatemala will join Group A together with El Salvador, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago, the order in which they will face the matches in the United States under the technical direction of Rafael Loredo, after Amarini Villatoro was fired on Thursday morning.
“Before the start of the 2021 Gold Cup group stage, all national teams conducted tests and, unfortunately, the Curaçao delegation returned a significant number of positive results among their staff and players in the last test round. Although several Curaçao players returned a negative test result, local laws require several of them to isolate themselves as they are close contacts of those who tested positive. In light of these circumstances, Concacaf and the Curaçao Football Federation have mutually agreed that Curaçao will not participate in the Gold Cup “, indicates the official statement from Concacaf.
“Concacaf and the Curaçao Football Federation have made every effort to find a solution that allows Curaçao to compete, however, the health and safety of Curaçao players and staff, and of all participants in the tournament. The next highest ranked team from the Preliminary Round of the Gold Cup is Guatemala. This is based on on-field performance (wins, draws and goal difference) in Prelim matches played at DRV PNK Stadium in South Florida, July 2-6. Based on this and according to the Gold Cup regulations, the Concacaf Council has unanimously approved an emergency proposal for Guatemala to replace Curaçao in Group A“, adds the official position.
Concacaf Statement – Curacao Delegation at 2021 Gold Cup
Details: https://t.co/Z7TsXba5r8Declaration of Concacaf – Delegation of Curaçao in the Gold Cup 2021
Details: https://t.co/1rn76R4Mrv pic.twitter.com/36jIJz9NH7– Concacaf (@Concacaf) July 9, 2021
Debut will be on Sunday
With the rivals already defined, Guatemala must play the first commitment before The Savior, game that has been programmed for Sunday, July 11. “The first game of the Group Stage of the Guatemala Gold Cup against El Salvador will be played on Sunday, July 11 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas,” adds Concacaf.
Remember that Guatemala they had been eliminated in the Preliminary Round against Guadalupe by falling on penalties 10-9 after a 1-1 draw during the 90 minutes. However, a last minute invitation issued by Concacaf allows the Bicolor to return to the regional tournament six years after its last participation in 2015.
In the second confrontation of the group, Guatemala will be measured again at Mexico after the 0-0 draw that was registered in 2015 at the University of Phoenix Stadium, a game that is currently scheduled for Wednesday, July 14 and the closing will be before Trinidad and Tobago Sunday, July 18.