Defending champions Mexico, debutants Dominican Republic open Gold Cup | OneFootball

MIAMI – The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup kicks off with reigning champions Mexico and tournament debutants, the Dominican Republic, meeting in the opening match on Saturday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

The 18th edition of Concacaf’s flagship national team competition begins in the same setting as its 2023 edition ended, where Mexico won its record-extending ninth title in a 1-nil victory against Panama.

Mexico and the Dominican Republic will open the proceedings in Group A. Costa Rica and Suriname, the other nations in the group, will play each other on Sunday as the first round of matches in the Group Stage continue.

Mexico seeks back-to-back triumphs

Santiago Giménez scored the match-winning goal in the 2023 Final. He is one of 14 returning players for the Mexican contingent that also include goalkeeper Luis Ángel Malagón and captain Edson Álvarez.

SoFi Stadium also hosted the 2025 Concacaf Nations League Finals last March, which saw Mexico collect its first trophy in that tournament. Raúl Jiménez starred with consecutive braces in the Semifinal and Final and is also one of Mexico’s returning stars for the Gold Cup.

Javier Aguirre is the head coach of Mexico for the 2025 tournament. ‘El Vasco’ will managed his country at two previous editions, lifting the trophy in 2009.

Historic participation for Los Quisqueyanos

The Dominican Republic will participate in the Gold Cup for the first time. The Caribbean nation earned its first qualification as one of the four group winners in League B of the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League.

Dorny Romero led the Dominican attack with 10 goals to finish as the top scorer of the Nations League. Heinz Mörschel was also a key player of the nation’s successful CNL campaign with five goals.

Mörschel is also one of several players from the Dominican Republic’s squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics that will participate at the Gold Cup, including Joao Urbáez, Edison Azcona, and Peter González.

The Dominican Republic squad is led by Argentinian Marcelo Neveleff, who has headed the senior men’s national team since 2023.