Before CONCACAF unveiled the groups for this summer’s Gold Cup yesterday, the confederation announced a few changes to the biennial tournament aimed at bringing the competition in line with similar regional tournaments. Among the biggest changes include an end to mid-tournament roster changes and the re-institution of extra time during the knockout stage.
Previous Gold Cups allowed teams to have rosters of 30 or 35 that would allow them to replace as many as 6 players on their roster between the end of the group stage and the beginning of the knockout stage. Now, teams can only name 23-man rosters, which means that when United States head coach Gregg Berhalter names his squad sometime in late May, that will be the only 23 players who will be eligible to play in the Gold Cup, even if someone gets injured.