Curacao was knocked out of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Friday due to good COVID tests and was replaced by Guatemala.



At 76th place, the island nation was due to open Group A on Saturday with El Salvador in Frisco, Texas, and then play Mexico on Wednesday in Dallas and Trinidad and Tobago on July 18 in Frisco.

"Before the start of the Gold Cup group stage, all the national teams competing went through several rounds of testing and, unfortunately, the Curacao team returned the best results to their staff and players in the final round of testing," CONCACAF said in a statement.

“While a number of players have returned negative test results, local national guidelines require that many of them isolate themselves due to being too close to those tested. In view of these circumstances, CONCACAF and the Curacao Football Federation have both agreed that Curacao will not be taking part in the Gold Cup. ”

Guatemala, ranked 127th, lost their second-round qualifier against Guadeloupe 10-9 in a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.

CONCACAF said Guatemala was the next best team available from qualifying, where Guatemala defeated Guyana 4-0 in the first round. Guatemala is scheduled to open El Salvador on Sunday in Frisco.

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