The CONCACAF Gold Cup kicks off today, but the tournament hits D.C. next Wednesday when the US plays Honduras as part of a double-header.

The CONCACAF Gold Cup — the bi-annual soccer tournament for the championship of North and Central America and the Caribbean — kicks off Friday, but the festivities will roll through the District next week when RFK Stadium hosts a first round double-header on Wednesday, July 8. The United States, fresh off their tremendous Confederations Cup run, will feature in the nightcap against Honduras, while Haiti and Grenada will duke it out in the early 7 p.m. match. Tickets are available here. After last week, you might be at least nominally familiar with the U.S. team, but probably lack a bit of knowledge about the others. We’re one step ahead of you: here is the official DCist guide to the 2009 Gold Cup.

United States
If ESPN hasn’t convinced you that this American team is ready for the world stage, then you’re either a cold, hard cynic or have been asleep for two weeks. After shocking Spain 2-0 in the Confederations Cup semifinals last week, the world-beater Yanks nearly went one better — taking an early 2-0 lead on Brazil, before running out of steam and falling 3-2 in the final. It was arguably the first time in a long time that our supposed “best players” — Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey — looked the part, and the team’s commitment in the defensive third is better than it has been for a decade. This American Gold Cup squad is a different one, however, featuring a mostly MLS-based team with a lot of international greenhorns. One of those will be D.C. United’s own Santino Quaranta, who returns to the national team after a long and difficult absence. Quaranta’s club form this year has been superb, and he should get a look even with several established attackers ahead of him in the pecking order. Perhaps the sentimentalist in coach Bob Bradley will see fit to give Santino a run on his home turf when the U.S. takes on Honduras next week at RFK. Regardless, the U.S. was boosted by a CONCACAF ruling that will allow the team to bring an extra seven players to help combat the fatigue of their lengthy Confederations Cup run in South Africa last week. Among those named are striker Jozy Altidore and midfielder Ricardo Clark, who both logged serious minutes throughout the South African campaign.

What to expect: Anything less than an appearance in the final will be considered a disappointment. Even without many key players, this team has the depth to compete against this level of competition. But watch out for Honduras — they could pip the Americans and claim first spot in the group, especially after they gave the States a scare less than one month ago.

Why a neutral should root for them: A moot point. One suspects few, if any, neutrals will be rooting for the Americans. Fortunately, we’re the ones hosting the tournament, so it should be less of an issue.