Soccer-Philadelphia to host Gold Cup final

By Simon Evans PHILADELPHIA, March 12 (Reuters) - Philadelphia will host the final of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on July 26, the confederation for North and Central America and the Caribbean, announced on Thursday. The final will be played at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. The United States, defending CONCACAF Gold Cup champions, will kick-off their 2015 title defence against Honduras or French Guyana in Dallas while rivals Mexico begin their challenge against Cuba in Chicago. The 12-team tournament features three groups of four teams which will be cut down to eight for the knockout stage. The semi-finals will be held in Atlanta. Group A features the United States, Panama, Haiti and the winner of the qualifying playoff between Honduras and French Guyana. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Jamaica and Canada are in Group B, while Mexico face Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba in Group C. (Reporting by Simon Evans, editing by Pritha Sarkar)