The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup marks the 16th CONCACAF Gold Cup, an international, biennial, men's soccer competition organized by the CONCACAF football governing body in North America, Central American, and the Caribbean.
Originally scheduled for July 2 to July 25, 2021, the international soccer tournament has now begun on July 10 and will end on August 1. The defending champions are Mexico, who won the 2019 edition. The CONCACAF Gold Cup will be used for the first time with the video assistant (VAR) system.
The Gold Cup will be held at 11 stadiums across eight metropolitan areas of the United States this summer. It is a major part of Concacaf's 60th-anniversary celebration. The final match will be held on Sunday, August 1, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Gold Cup 2021: Why is Guillermo Ochoa not playing for Mexico?
The defending champions Mexico have competed in every Gold Cup so far and they have never failed to advance to the knockout stages. El Tri have appeared in nine finals, winning eight of them. They now head to the Gold Cup 2021 as favorites to claim a back-to-back title as Gerardo Martino submitted a powerful list of players to seek the trophy. However, Guillermo Ochoa won't be part of the squad to fight for another championship.
The Mexico boss Gerardo Martino has stated that, because of some minor recent injuries, Guillermo Ochoa, as well as Hirving Lozano, Andres Guardado, and Hector Herrera would not be available, and thus they will miss the Gold Cup 2021. In addition, there were even previous rumors that the Club America shot-stopper would opt to play with the Mexico Olympic squad this summer rather than feature in the Gold Cup with the senior team.
Ochoa has previously won four Gold Cup tournaments with Mexico (2009, 2011, 2015, and 2019), and he was named Gold Cup Glove in 2019. Since Gerardo Martino was named Mexico's new manager in 2019, Ochoa and has been the national team's leading goalkeeper featuring in 13 of 28 games so far.
