Action from the international friendly between visiting Honduras (white jersey) and Mexico on October 9, 2014. (Photo: Mexsport)
MEXICO CITY -- Not only is Houston hosting a 2015 Gold Cup doubleheader involving 2014 FIFA World Cup quarterfinalist Costa Rica on July 11, it will be the location for a warm-up match to the competition involving two high-profile CONCACAF teams.
Mexico and Honduras, which also participated in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last summer, will play at NRG Stadium on Wednesday, July 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET. They last squared off against each other on October 9, 2014, a 2-0 win for the host Tricolor.
After finishing fifth in the 2014 Central American Cup, the Hondurans must first play French Guiana in a two-legged playoff on March 25 and 29 to determine the 12th and last qualifier for the Gold Cup.
Mexico most recently played in Houston on May 31, 2013, earning a 2-2 draw against Nigeria before more than 62,000 fans.
The game is part of the six-time Gold Cup champion’s 2015 USA tour, which includes stops at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to play Ecuador on March 28 and in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri to meet Paraguay on March 31.
While not considered part of the tour, Mexico will also play the United States in San Antonio, Texas, on April 15. That game is already sold out.
The 2015 Gold Cup will be contested in 13 cities in the United States and Canada from July 7-July 26.
Venues include Carson, California; Glendale, Arizona; Frisco, Texas; Houston; Chicago; Kansas City, Kansas; Toronto; Foxborough; Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; East Rutherford, New Jersey; Baltimore, Maryland; Atlanta, and Philadelphia.
In the group stage of the Gold Cup, the Mexicans also will play at Soldier Field (Chicago) on July 9, the University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Ariz.) on July 12 and at Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, N.C.) on July 15.
