Soldier Field named host of 2019 Gold Cup final

The championship game for one of the biggest international soccer tournaments in the world is coming back to the home of the Chicago Bears. The 2019 Gold Cup final will be played at Soldier Field, CONCACAF announced Thursday.

The Gold Cup is a biennial tournament organized by CONCACAF for men’s national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. A total of 15 venues across the United States, including several NFL stadiums, are hosting the 2019 edition, which will give Team USA a chance to clinch a spot in the 2021 FIFA Confederations Cup with a victory on home soil.

Six teams have already clinched spots in the expanded 16-team field for next year as a result of competing in this year’s World Cup qualifying hexagonal: the U.S., Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago. Ten more teams will be added through a series of qualifying games.

This is the third time that Soldier Field will have the chance to host the Gold Cup final, which is set for July 7, 2019. The U.S. won the final each of the last two times the final was in Chicago (2007, 2013), and it’s made all but one final since 2005. Last year, the Americans beat Jamaica in the final, 2-1, to win the 2017 Gold Cup.

“It is fitting that Chicago — the most American of American cities — has been selected to host the championship match of the 2019 Gold Cup,” Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming some of the game’s greatest players to the pitch at Soldier Field — and their fans to our great and welcoming city. This is a great opportunity for Chicago, and we are all anticipating another competitive and exciting tournament.”

The stakes will be high for the United States given the chance to guarantee a spot in the 2021 Confederations Cup, a marquee tournament that could serve as a step on the road to redemption after missing the 2018 FIFA World Cup. If another country wins the 2019 Gold Cup, then the U.S. will have to play that team in a one-off match next year for a spot in the 2021 Confederations Cup.