Q2 Stadium, the 20,500-seat home of Austin FC, has been awarded one of the two 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal matches to take place in July 2021.
Following the announcement of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Champion U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) exhibition match against Nigeria on Wednesday, June 16, Q2 Stadium will host Austin’s first-ever official men’s and women’s international soccer matches.
The 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup will feature 16 national teams, 12 of which have qualified via the 2019–20 Concacaf Nations League, including the six-time champion U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) and eight-time champion Mexican Men’s National Team. They will be joined by the 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions and 2022 FIFA World Cup host, Qatar, and three additional teams qualifying via the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims, a qualification round taking place July 2-6, 2021.
“Austin FC is proud to showcase Q2 Stadium and Austin for one of the most important matchups in the CONCACAF Gold Cup lineup,” commented Austin FC President, Andy Loughnane. “Having Q2 Stadium named as one of 11 venues in the country to host a 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup is a great honor, and hosting one of two semifinal matches further reinforces the strength of the soccer community in Austin.”
“We are thrilled to welcome the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal to Austin this July,” said Drew Hays, Director of the Austin Sports Commission. “This prestigious soccer tournament signals the return of major events to our city and credit goes to the Austin FC, Q2 Stadium and our community of soccer fans throughout Austin who made this a reality,” he added.
The 2021 Gold Cup will officially kick off with a new Preliminary Round at DRV PNK Stadium. Twelve nations who qualified through CONCACAF Nations League will compete for the final three spots in the 16 team Gold Cup Group Stage. The Round One and Two matchups were drawn on September 10, 2020 and are available here.
The current groups for the 2021 Gold Cup are outlined below:
Group A: Mexico, El Salvador, Curacao, and Winner Prelims 9
Group B: USA, Canada, Martinique, and Winner Prelims 7
Group C: Costa Rica, Jamaica, Suriname, and Winner Prelims 8
Group D: Honduras, Panama, Grenada, and Qatar
In a significant format development, all final group stage matches will be played concurrently. This will create an even more compelling spectacle as the teams compete to reach the knockout stage.
At the end of Group Stage play, the top two finishers in each group will advance to a knockout stage. The knockout stage will be played as follows:
Quarterfinal #1: Winner Group D vs Second Place Group A
Quarterfinal #4: Winner Group B vs Second Place Group C
Quarterfinal #2: Winner Group A vs Second Place Group D
Quarterfinal #3: Winner Group C vs Second Place Group B
Semifinal #1: Winner Quarterfinal #1 vs Winner Quarterfinal #4
Semifinal #2: Winner Quarterfinal #2 vs Winner Quarterfinal #3
Final: Winner Semifinal #1 vs Winner SF #2
Photo Rendering: Austin FC