Chicago's Soldier Field to host 2007 Gold Cup final

Chicago's Soldier Field, seen here in this September 2006 view, will host the semi-finals and final of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 12-nation tournament that will run from June 6-24

Chicago's Soldier Field will host the semi-finals and final of the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, the 12-nation tournament that will run from June 6-24, the regional football federation said.

The first round will see three groups of four teams each.

First-round matches will be held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, and Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

The Orange Bowl will host all three games of its first round group.

The Home Depot Center will host two, with the group finishing up in Foxboro, and Giants Stadium will host two games with that group completing play in Houston.

Foxboro and Houston will host the quarter-finals, which will consist of the top two teams in each group plus the two best third-place teams.

Both semi-finals and the final will take place at Soldier Field in the "Windy City," the home of the US soccer federation.

Chicago will be hosting Gold Cup games for the first time.

"Once again the Gold Cup will be in six cities across the USA and will draw upon the host country' s unique position as home to soccer fans from every corner of the world," CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer said.

"In 2005 over one-third of a million people attended Gold Cup games and this time around we are confident that the tournament will prove just as popular with 12 CONCACAF teams competing for the famous Gold Cup trophy and a place in the next FIFA Confederations' Cup (in South Africa in 2009).