The U.S. men's soccer team plays its first Gold Cup match Saturday against South Korea in Pasadena, California. The two teams will be battling in the same World Cup group.
The U.S. team visited South Korea last month, and lost in a friendly match, 1-0. South Korea and Japan host this year's World Cup, where the Americans and Koreans will face-off June 10. U.S. coach Bruce Arena said Saturday's match will be a time to continue evaluations. "We're looking at both some of our team concepts and, more importantly, some individual performances. So, this competition is going to be critical for some of our players, if they wish to continue to remain in the hunt for the final roster for the World Cup," he said.
The U.S. team will complete first round Gold Cup play Monday versus Cuba. The top two teams in each of the three-team groups move on to the quarterfinals.
The Gold Cup is comprised of 12 teams, and is the championship for the Confederation of North-, Central American and Caribbean Football. Three-time Gold Cup winner Mexico is in Group-A, and defending champion Canada heads up Group-D. South Korea and Ecuador are invited guests in the tournament.