🏆 Six Concacaf Nations League matches to watch this window
From A to C, the best of the 34 games as the groups get decided
The Nations League is back!
Some silly tournament called the World Cup complicated the flow of this edition, which last had matches played in June, but starting today and running through Tuesday, each group will be decided.
Concacaf has reworked the format once again for the next edition, so no one is going to get relegated in this edition.
Top teams will be putting themselves in position to qualify for the 2024 Copa América, while smaller nations are still pushing toward the Gold Cup or the preliminary tournament that decides the final three slots in the tournament proper.
With all Concacaf members in action and 34 total matches taking place, how do you know what to keep an eye on?
I’ve picked out two matches worth making time for in each of the three leagues - and, of course, let you know why I’ll be locked in.
League A
What’s decided: Not too much. With Concacaf giving the teams qualified for the World Cup a ‘half window’ of sorts in the summer, the North American teams and Costa Rica have played two games to the rest of the groups’ three. None of them won both games.
So, Panama, Jamaica and El Salvador have booked their passage to the Gold Cup, but the places in the Nations League Final Four - announced Monday to be taking place in Las Vegas - are still up for grabs.
It’s tough to see giants like the United States and Mexico falling on their trips to Grenada and Suriname, which would mean they need just a point next week for deciding games at home.
The panorama is less clear for the other World Cup teams. Costa Rica can’t go to the top of its group even with a win Saturday over Martinique and will need a win over Panama to make the Final Four.
Canada’s trip to Curacao could be tricky, and then it’s one of the games to watch below:
Games to watch: Suriname vs. Mexico (Thursday, 8 p.m. ET)
Diego Cocca makes his Mexico managerial debut in parts unknown, taking El Tri to Paramaribo for a game against Suriname.
El Tri shouldn’t have trouble winning, even though Suriname continues to rework their squad under new manager Aron Winter. The former Netherlands international has some recruits coming in including Anfernee Dijksteel of Middlesbrough and Israel-based defender Fabian Sporkslede, but the key may be some of the players who have become mainstays in recent years.
Sheraldo Becker, who has scored seven goals in the Bundesliga with Union Berlin this season, will again work with Gleofilo Vlijter up top, but there’s a scarcity in the Suriname midfield and Winter has moved on from center back Ryan Donk and also didn’t call goalkeeper Warner Hahn or fullback Sean Klaiber.
Cocca has opted to split his squad for the games against Suriname and Jamaica. With a direct flight from the Netherlands to Suriname, forward Santi Gimenez and midfielder Erick Gutierrez are among the big names in the team, while many of El Tri’s World Cup veterans are preparing for the Reggae Boyz’ visit.
All in all, it should be a game with some spice on the turf of the Franklin Essed Stadion.
Canada vs. Honduras (Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET)
I’ll have more on Canada tomorrow, but it’s a crucial moment for the Reds. It’s a bit reductive, but essentially this game is Canada fighting to tighten its grip on what Honduras used to have.
Los Catrachos were regularly the third- or fourth-best team in the region behind Mexico and the U.S. While Canada topped the World Cup qualification table, it is yet to prove it will be sticking around for more than one cycle.
While Honduras fans are down on their team, a win over El Salvador in last night’s preparation match as the team heads to Canada should give a boost, as should the prospect of a Nations League Final Four return.
And obviously that Costa Rica-Panama game in San Jose on Tuesday is going to be pretty good as well.
League B
What’s decided: In Group B, Haiti is all but back in League A and the Gold Cup. In Group C, Nicaragua and Trinidad and Tobago are the clear top two, but their finale Monday on Tobago likely will decide who is going up and who has to go the prelim route to get into the Gold Cup.
Games to watch: French Guiana vs. Dominican Republic (Thursday, 5:30 p.m. ET)
This group always set up for a tight finish, but French Guiana staying undefeated through its first three, thanks in no small part to the scoring exploits of forward Joel Sarrucco, was something I didn’t see coming.
Clearly, Les Yana Dòkòs are in control of their own destiny, but the Dominican Republic will work to change that and keep hopes of Gold Cup qualification alive after a slow start.
New DR manager Marcelo Neveleff, formerly of the Orlando City academy setup, has his work cut out for him. Yet, with Always Ready duo Dorny Romero and Edarlyn Reyes in the fold, he’ll hope to get a boost up front.
Stopping Sarrucco, who has scored in each of French Guiana’s four CNL matches so far? Nobody has figured that out yet, including the DR which lost a 3-2 back-and-forth in June in Santo Domingo.
Cuba vs. Guadeloupe (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET)
Both have a potential trap game before the finale, but with Cuba and Guadeloupe each on nine points from three wins and a loss, this game should decide who moves up to League A.
Cuba won’t have Onel Herandnez, who is injured, but does have Arichell Hernandez, who scored a hat trick in Cuba’s last CNL match. He’s based in Guatemala, one of 18 foreign-based players in the initial call-up as Cuba’s doors continue to open to players based away from the island. This is, I believe, the most players from foreign leagues Cuba ever has called, and the benefits of fielding players who are excelling in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Europe has been clear.
Yet, Les Gwada Boys can counter with plenty of impressive club resumes of their own. Union Berlin fullback Jérôme Roussillon is included for the first time, adding to the firepower provided by Belgium-based forward Thierry Ambrose, who has four goals in his first six international matches including a 90th-minute winner in these teams’ first meeting.
If manager Jocelyn Angloma can lock the team into promotion and a Gold Cup slot, he’ll have even more of a carrot to dangle in front of potential recruits, but on Cuban soil it’s a game that won’t be at all easy to win.
League C
What’s decided: Puerto Rico and Saint Lucia both already have won their groups and are going up to League B plus earned a spot in the Gold Cup prelims.
Games to watch:
Saint Martin vs. St. Kitts and Nevis (Thursday, 3 p.m. ET)
SKN needed a late equalizer to beat Saint Martin (this is the French one) in the June window and hasn’t played like a team that was in the second round of World Cup qualification in this cycle.
(The goal is at the 7:16 mark of this highlight)
Romaine Sawyers once again is in the squad, with England-based defenders Lois Maynard, Andre Burley and Raheem Hanley plus new additions Mikkel Hirst and U-20 veteran Tyrese Shade.
St. Martin’s all-time leading scorer Yannick Bellechasse, currently based in Anguilla, will be looking to find the scoresheet again after not scoring yet this tournament.
If the matchup itself doesn’t excite you, can I offer you Claude Makélélé in Anguilla?
Cause, there’s Claude Makélélé in Anguilla.
Here he is checking out Anguilla’s new merch store with Anguilla FA president Girdon Connor.
The new Makélélé role is Technical Advisor to the St. Kitts and Nevis FA. Hopefully I can get some more information on what all that entails, but the fact he’s in Anguilla, where St. Martin plays host to SKN, is honestly farther than we’ve seen other, similar partnerships go.
Bonaire vs. Turks and Caicos Islands (Tuesday, 6 p.m. ET)
This is the first-ever match Bonaire will be hosting on home soil. After years of playing home matches in Curacao, Bonaire earned Concacaf approval for the renovated Stadion Antonio Trenidat in Rincon to serve as the site for official matches.
It was inaugurated earlier this month to a 3,000-person sell out against CVV Inter Willemstad, a club from Curacao.
The vibe at the Antonio Trenidat on Tuesday will be dictated by what happens in the window’s first match. Bonaire need just a point to clinch promotion to League B and its first-ever place in the Gold Cup prelims.
The only team that can reasonably catch it is Sint Maarten, who is playing as the home team in St. Croix on Saturday before playing as the visitor Tuesday.
A win or even a draw in the USVI will mean a celebratory atmosphere in front of their countrymen in Tuesday’s game against TCI. A loss and it may be more tense, with Bonaire not wanting to let its big opportunity slip away.
Beyond the drama and the atmosphere, Bonaire’s 22-year-old forward Ayrton Cicilia has been one of the breakout stars of this tournament and is a joy to watch.
Want to read more about Bonaire? Last summer, I profiled the Spanish journalist who became assistant coach
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A shame more dual-nationals aren't committing. I was hoping to see St. Juste for SKN and for Mariano and Firpo to finally accept they aren't going to play for Spain.
Speaking of Guadeloupe and French Guiana (if they get promoted):
Has it been officially confirmed anywhere that they or Martinique would be allowed to play in the Copa América if they qualified?