USWNT to play Colombia after Concacaf W Gold Cup quarterfinal lineup determined by wild draw of lots

While the U.S. secured easy passageway to the knockouts, a draw of lots was needed to fill out the bracket

By Pardeep Cattry

Feb 29, 2024 at 10:54 am ET • 2 min read

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The U.S. women's national team will play Colombia in the quarterfinals of the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup on Sunday, making up one of the most enticing matchups in a knockout phase that required a draw of lots to determine the last eight teams standing.

Eight teams from the 12-team group stage advanced to the knockouts, but all qualifying teams were ranked in a single table based on the amounts of points they picked up during the group stage. Their rankings in that table would then determine where they landed in the knockout round bracket. The USWNT ranked fourth after their 2-0 loss to Mexico on Monday while Canada, Brazil and Mexico took up the top three spots, respectively.

Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, though, were locked in a battle for the final quarterfinal berth. The teams were tied on points and on each of the tournament's tiebreakers -- goal difference, goals scored and yellow cards. It required Cocnacaf to draw lots to determine who would go through, with Costa Rica securing passageway to the quarterfinals in the most unlikely of ways.

📹For those waking up hearing about the #WGoldCup quarterfinal decider by plastic balls out of a bowl, here’s the moment from the room: pic.twitter.com/v3P3lRJLrF
— Theo Lloyd-Hughes (@theolloydhughes) February 29, 2024

The USWNT's lower-than-expected finish on the table means they have arguably the toughest matchup of the quarterfinals. Colombia is a team on the rise after their run to the quarterfinals of last year's Women's World Cup and are led by 19-year-old Linda Caicedo, who was one the breakout stars of the competition and has two goals so far at the Gold Cup. The two sides do have some recent history that benefits the USWNT, though -- they played in a pair of friendlies last October, one which ended in a 0-0 draw and the other that saw the U.S. win 3-0.

Regional heavyweights Canada will take on Costa Rica, the winner of which will play the winner of the USWNT's match against Colombia in the semifinals. On the other side of the bracket, Brazil will face Argentina and Mexico will take on Paraguay.

See below for the full bracket.