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Tom Hindle

CONCACAF Gold Cup 2025 Draw Winners and Losers: Jesse Marsch's Canada have a clear path to the final, but Mauricio Pochettino and USMNT face a tricky road

Canada appear to have an enviable path, but the USMNT might not have an easy time after being drawn into a tough group

The CONCACAF Gold Cup is a tricky thing. For big teams such as the USMNT and Mexico, it's a prerequisite to win it, and a bit of an embarrassment if you don't. Yet Thursday's draw for the 2025 version yielded a few matchups that might complicate things.

Mexico, in Group A, have a bit of a mix. Costa Rica is agreeable, but Suriname and the Dominican Republic won't be complete pushovers. Still, after winning the CONCACAF Nations League, they should still be considered favorites. Things look considerably more awkward for the USMNT, who will have to face unlikely bogey team Trinidad & Tobago, and also wildcards Saudi Arabia.

Topping the group is by no means a certainty. There is considerably better news, though, for Canada and Panama, who seem well positioned to build on their Nations League success.

Piece it together, and what could usually be a formality looks like something a bit more complicated, with intriguing matchups and plenty of storylines to follow.

GOAL looks at the winners and losers from the 2025 Gold Cup draw.

  • United States v Panama - CONCACAF Nations League: SemifinalGetty Images Sport

    WINNER: Panama

    Things keep getting better and better for Panama. First, they knock the USMNT out of 2024 Copa America. Then, they do it again in the Nations League finals last month. And now, they have the easiest possible group in their efforts to make what would be a dream run in an important tournament.

    Jamaica might offer a tough test, but the other two opponents - Guatemala and Guadeloupe - should make for relatively easy work. Thomas Christensen's side will be riding a real high at the moment, and this has only fueled the flames. Win this one - which they really should - and the sky is the limit.

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  • Mexico v United States: Final - Concacaf Nations LeagueGetty Images Sport

    LOSER: USMNT

    Well, that's not great. There isn't really a group of death here, such is the gap in quality between most teams in the tournament. But this one really won't be easy for the USMNT - even after considering that some top players will be competing simultaneously in the Club World Cup and it's unclear as to whether the likes of Christian Pulisic will play. Haiti is perhaps a kind draw, but the other two teams will make things tricky.

    Trinidad & Tobago have historically been a difficult matchup, famously denying the U.S. of 2018 World Cup qualification with a 2-1 home win. And wildcard entrants Saudi Arabia won't make life easy, either. The U.S. really has to win this thing, and it would have been nice to have an easy group to kick things off.

    This collection of sides won't offer any simple fixtures whatsoever. They will need to be on form from the first minute.

  • Jesse MarschUSA Today

    WINNER: Canada

    OK, Jesse, time to prove you can do it. Canada have flirted with silverware for some time, and are starting to look like a properly good team under coach Jesse Marsch. They played Mexico more or less even in a disappointing loss in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal, and comfortably saw off a full strength USMNT in the third place match - despite playing most of the game without star man Alphonso Davies, who is out with an ACL tear.

    Marsch has suggested, repeatedly, that silverware should now be the goal for Les Rouges, and this draw seems a promising start in that quest. Honduras, El Salvador and Curacao are about as easy as it gets, with the highest ranking team at No. 75 in FIFA's latest edition.

  • Costa Rica v Paraguay - CONMEBOL Copa America USA 2024Getty Images Sport

    LOSER: Costa Rica

    Costa Rica were the darlings of the 2014 World Cup. Keylor Navas was magnificent in goal as they made a Cinderella run to the quarterfinals, and knocked England out in the group stage. Since then, they have undergone a steady decline.

    Draws with Suriname and Guatemala, as well as a group stage exit at Copa America, have seen the team stall. They could have really done with a friendly draw to right the ship here. Panama, or even the USMNT might have been kind.

    Instead, they're stuck with presumptive favorites Mexico, as well as a Suriname side they have failed to beat and the in-form Dominican Republic.

  • Dominican Republic SoccerGetty

    WINNER: The Dominican Republic

    File this one under "happy to be here." The DR have qualified for the Gold Cup for the first time, continuing a wonderful story of the growth of soccer in the nation. They played competitive football at the Olympics for the first time in 2024, and turned in a handful of good performances in their debut.

    The Gold Cup is yet another milestone. Mariano Diaz, a Real Madrid flop who is currently without a club, leads the line, and is hoping to give the fans something to shout about as the nation's footballing dreams grow.

  • Mauricio Pochettino USMNTGetty Images

    LOSER: Mauricio Pochettino

    So much for all of the talk about "tests" and "signature wins." Right now, the U.S. is treading water. Can you talk about getting a "signature win" when you can't even get a result against Panama?

    The U.S. just have to, well, win. This group gives Pochettino some difficult decisions to make. An easy one and he might be able to rest a big name or two - or even leave a couple of players at home. Now, though, he will likely have to go full strength right away - and find form quickly. Time to get some results.