NASHVILLE, Tenn. (June 20, 2023) – Nashville Soccer Club shared today the international calls of Aníbal Godoy (Panama) Fafà Picault (Haiti) and Jacob Shaffelburg (Canada) ahead of the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Group Stage.
Panama, who will participate in Group C, will open up the tournament against Costa Rica on Monday, June 26 before taking on the winner of Martinique-Puerto Rico Preliminary Round match on June 30. Panama will wrap up the Group Stage against El Salvador on July 4.
Haiti, Group B, will face Qatar on June 25 before a massive showdown against Mexico on June 29. Haiti will wrap up the Group Stage on July 2 against Honduras.
Canada, Group D, will start on June 27 against the winner of the Guadeloupe-Guyana Preliminary Round match. Canada will then face Guatemala on July 1 and conclude the Group Stage against Cuba on July 4.
Godoy has been the face of Panamanian soccer for over a decade, earning 126 caps for the Senior Team, and having served as captain in 14 of his last 19 appearances. In 2022, Godoy made 12 appearances, earning a 4W-3L-5D record and serving as captain seven times.
Godoy represented Panama in the 2023 Nations League Semifinal and third place playoff match last week, starting in both matches against Canada and Mexico and having a spectacular bicycle kick goal from inside the box that was ultimately overturned by VAR due to offside.
At the club level, Godoy has guided the Nashville midfield to a spectacular 8W-2L-4D record in his 14 appearances this season. Godoy has anchored the midfield to an unbeaten record his last nine appearances for the Boys in Gold. Nashville owns a 18W-7L-8D record in Godoy’s appearances since 2022.
Picault is set to make his debut for Haitian National Team squad. This season with Nashville SC, the midfielder has registered five goals and an assist across all competitions, and owns a perfect 6W-0L-0D record when he scores or assists in 2023.
Jacob Shaffelburg is set to make his Gold Cup debut after earning four caps for the Canadian Senior Team in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2021-22 against Jamaica and Panama and then two international friendlies against Barbados and Bahrain.
Since making his debut for Nashville SC on Aug. 21, 2022, Shaffelburg has scored five goals and has been a catalyst drawing three penalties for Nashville SC. The winger owns an all-time record of 14W-4L-7D in MLS play.
The 2023 Gold Cup will feature 16 nations divided into four groups. The 12 Concacaf national teams, which qualified directly through their performances in the Concacaf Nations League group stage, the guest participant, AFC Asian Cup Champions Qatar, and the three Prelims winners were divided into four groups.
Following 2023 Gold Cup Group Stage play, the top two finishers in each of the groups (eight teams) will advance to a Knockout Stage, that will be comprised of Quarterfinals, to be played on July 8 and 9, Semifinals on July 12, and the Final at SoFi Stadium, on Sunday, July 16.
Nashville SC will compete in a pair of away matches this week, first traveling north of the border to take on CF Montréal on Wednesday, June 21 and then visiting Columbus Crew on Saturday, June 24. Both matches are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on MLS Season Pass in the Apple TV app and heard on 104.5 The Zone.
