Radanfah Abu Bakr (No.6) of Trinidad & Tobago and Rogelio Funes Mori of Mexico head the ball during the match of CONCACAF Gold Cup Group A between Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago at AT&T Stadium on July 10, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. Photo: VCG

Defending champions Mexico were held to a goalless draw by Trinidad and Tobago in their Gold Cup opener after losing star striker Hirving Lozano in a scary collision early in the contest.

Napoli's Lozano was carted off the field less than 15 minutes into the match in front of 41,000 fans at AT&T Stadium in suburban Dallas, Texas, after colliding with Trinidad goalkeeper Marvin Phillip.

Lozano had entered the box with the ball, battling two Trinidad defenders, and was bumped straight into Phillip, whose knee hit Lozano in the face.

Play was halted for several minutes before 25-year-old Lozano was taken from the pitch on a stretcher wearing a neck brace and transported to hospital for observation.

Despite the early setback, Mexico dominated but couldn't break through for a goal.

The match was the only contest on the opening day of the 16-nation championship for teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.

El Salvador's scheduled match against Curacao was scrapped after Curacao was forced to withdraw because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the team.

They will be replaced in the draw by Guatemala, who will play El Salvador on Sunday in nearby Frisco, Texas, as Canada face Martinique and the US take on Haiti in Group B clashes in Kansas City.

Curacao's withdrawal marked another troubled turn for the tournament build-up.

Cuba were forced to withdraw from preliminary rounds due to "­COVID-19 related travel and visa ­challenges," CONCACAF announced in the previous week.

The tournament has also lost some of its luster due to the US opting to field a virtual second-string team for the competition, with most of the country's Europe-based players rested.