Concacaf will hold its first-ever Concacaf Gold Cup draw on Monday in Miami at 8 pm ET (TUDN, FS2 and OneSoccer).
The draw for the preliminary rounds will feature the 12 national teams that earned a place in the Gold Cup Qualifiers through their performances in the Concacaf Nations League group stage, which was played in September, October and November 2019, including the bottom placed finishers in League A groups, the runners-up in League B groups and the winners of League C groups.
Qatar, which will be a guest for the competition, will be in the fourth pot with the winning three teams from the preliminary qualifiers.
The top six teams based on Concacaf rankings will be pre-seeded into matchups 1-6, with the next six drawn from a single pot. After direct elimination play over three match days between July 2-6, 2021, the 12 teams will be reduced to a final three who will qualify for the Gold Cup Group Stage.
Prelims Seeded Teams and Draw Pot (to qualify three teams via knockout for Gold Cup Group Stage)
Pre-seeded teams: Haiti, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Cuba, Guadeloupe and Bermuda
Pot 1: French Guiana, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Montserrat and Bahamas
Group Stage Draw Pots (based on August 2020 Concacaf Ranking)
Pot 1 (pre-seeded teams): Mexico (Group A), USA (Group B), Costa Rica (Group C) and Honduras (Group D)
Pot 2: Jamaica, Canada, Panama and El Salvador
Pot 3: Martinique, Curacao, Suriname and Grenada
Pot 4: Three preliminary round winners and Qatar (Group D)
The draw will include Trinidad and Tobago despite its suspension from FIFA for violating FIFA statutes. However, their participation in the tournament is contingent on the suspension getting lifted by FIFA by 5 pm ET on December 18, 2020. If the suspension is not lifted by FIFA by that deadline, Trinidad and Tobago will be replaced in the preliminary rounds by the Antigua and Barbuda Football Association as the next highest-ranked team based on their 2019 Concacaf Nations League performance.
