Honduras qualifies for Gold Cup, will be in USMNT's group

The United States' group for the 2015 Gold Cup is set. Honduras beat French Guiana in a playoff to book their spot in this summer's tournament and round out Group A.

Honduras finished fifth in Copa Centroamericana, denying them automatic qualification into the Gold Cup. They had to take on the fifth place team from the Caribbean Cup in a two-legged playoff to get in, and they barely made it through.

French Guiana, a French overseas department who is not a FIFA member but is eligible for CONCACAF competition, won the first leg at home, 3-1. That left Honduras in a rather deep hole heading back to San Pedro Sula for the second leg, but they climbed out with three goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half for a 3-0 win, 4-3 on aggregate.

When CONCACAF announced the groups for the Gold Cup on March 12, they put the U.S., Panama and Haiti in Group A. They also placed the winner of the Honduras/French Guiana play-off in the group, and now we know that is Honduras.

The U.S. will open Gold Cup play against Honduras on July 7 in Frisco, TX. They will then head to Foxboro, MA for a clash with Haiti before wrapping up group play against Panama on July 13 in Kansas City, KS.