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2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League A

The 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League A was the top division of the 2023–24 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, the third season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The initial group stage was held from 7 September 2023 to 17 October 2023.[1][2]

League A culminated with the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League Finals in March 2024 to crown the champions of the CONCACAF Nations League.[3]

This edition of the CONCACAF Nations League A served to determine the six CONCACAF representatives that qualified as guests for the 2024 Copa América in the United States. The four quarter-finals winners and two play-in winners between the four quarter-finals losers qualified to the CONMEBOL tournament.[4]

Format

Starting from this edition, League A was increased from twelve to sixteen teams and a new quarter-final round was introduced. The group stage became two groups of six teams instead of the four groups of three teams of previous editions, and four teams received a direct bye to the quarter-finals. The twelve lowest-ranked teams in the CONCACAF Rankings as of March 2023 entered the group stage and were divided into two groups of six teams, with each team playing four matches against group opponents (two at home and two away) on a Swiss-system format. The top two teams from each group advanced to the quarter-finals, and were joined by the four top-ranked teams in the CONCACAF Rankings as of March 2023. The quarter-finals were played on a two-legged home-and-away basis, with the four winners advancing to the Nations League Finals and qualifying directly to the 2024 Copa América, while the four losers played two single-legged play-in matches for the last two berths to the CONMEBOL tournament.[3]

The Nations League Finals retained its previous format of a semi-final round, third place play-off and final match to determine the champions.

Teams

A total of sixteen national teams contested League A, including the twelve sides from the 2022–23 season and four promoted from the 2022–23 League B. As a result of the expansion to 16 teams, there were no relegated teams last season, so the twelve teams from the 2022–23 season remained in League A for this edition.

Team changes

The following were the team changes of League A from the 2022–23 season:

Nicaragua originally qualified for promotion to League A as League B Group C winners, but they were disqualified due to fielding an ineligible player. As a result, they were replaced by Trinidad and Tobago on 12 June 2023, and Nicaragua replaced Trinidad and Tobago in League B.[5]

Teams promoted from League B

Cuba, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago returned to League A after a one-season absence. Guatemala reached the top division of the CONCACAF Nations League for the first time after starting in League C in the inaugural edition and moving up from League B the previous season.

Seeding

The pots were confirmed on 2 May 2023, with the lowest twelve League A ranked teams, based on the CONCACAF Rankings as of 31 March 2023, being split into six pots of two teams. The top four ranked teams (Mexico, the United States, Canada and Costa Rica) were directly seeded in the quarter-finals.[6]

Draw

The group stage draw was held on 16 May 2023, 19:00 EDT, in Miami, Florida, United States[3][7] where the twelve involved teams were drawn into two groups of six. The draw began by randomly selecting a team from Pot 1 and placing them in Group A and then selecting the remaining team from Pot 1 and placing them in Group B. The draw continued with the same procedure done for the remaining pots.

The draw resulted in the following groups:[8]

Group stage

The fixture list was confirmed by CONCACAF on 6 July 2023.[1][2] All match times are in EDT (UTC−4) as listed by CONCACAF (local times, if different, are in parentheses).[9][10][11][12]

Group A

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain
Attendance: 5,181[13]
Referee: Daneon Parchment (Jamaica)
Estadio Universitario, Penonomé
Attendance: 3,145[14]
Referee: Marco Ortiz (Mexico)
Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City
Attendance: 18,313[15]
Referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras)
Stade Pierre-Aliker, Fort-de-France
Attendance: 913[17]
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)
Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City
Attendance: 18,313[18]
Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)
Estadio Jorge "El Mágico" González, San Salvador
Referee: Ricardo Montero (Costa Rica)
Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad
Referee: Ismail Elfath (United States)
Stade Pierre-Aliker, Fort-de-France
Attendance: 877[19]
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)
Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City
Attendance: 13,536[20]
Referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Estadio Jorge "El Mágico" González, San Salvador
Attendance: 5,605[21]
Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad
Attendance: 1,043[22]
Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

Group B

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal (Dominican Republic)[note 2]
Attendance: 550[24]
Referee: Randy Encarnación (Dominican Republic)
Kirani James Athletic Stadium, St. George's
Attendance: 2,994[25]
Referee: Kwinsi Williams (Trinidad and Tobago)
Independence Park, Kingston
Attendance: 3,800[26]
Referee: Daniel Quintero (Mexico)
Estadio Antonio Maceo, Santiago de Cuba
Attendance: 3,500[27]
Referee: Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)
Independence Park, Kingston
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés, Tegucigalpa
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)
Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion, Paramaribo
Attendance: 2,553[28]
Referee: Víctor Cáceres (Mexico)
Kirani James Athletic Stadium, St. George's
Attendance: 4,394[29]
Referee: Joseph Dickerson (United States)
Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic)[note 3]
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago)[note 4]
Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)
Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés, Tegucigalpa
Attendance: 10,899[32]
Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)
Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion, Paramaribo
Attendance: 1,285[33]
Referee: Christopher Mason (Jamaica)

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals pairings were determined based on the CONCACAF Rankings published after the October 2023 FIFA Match Window for the four pre-seeded teams and the group stage results for the winners and runners-up of each group.[4]

The match-ups were as follows:

Each tie was played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs being decided by the four pre-seeded teams that received a direct bye to the quarter-finals (Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States).[35] If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time would be played without taking into account the away goals rule during this time. If still tied after extra time, the tie would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Winners advanced to the Nations League Finals and qualified for the 2024 Copa América, while losers advanced to the Copa América qualifying play-offs.

Summary

The first legs were played from 16 to 18 November, and the second legs were played on 20 and 21 November 2023.[35]

Matches

The fixture list was confirmed by CONCACAF on 6 July 2023.[1][2] All match times are in EST (UTC−5) as listed by CONCACAF (local times, if different, are in parentheses).[36][37]

Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San José
Attendance: 17,787
Referee: Mario Escobar (Guatemala)
Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City
Attendance: 15,288
Referee: Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

Panama won 6–1 on aggregate, advanced to the Finals, and qualified for the 2024 Copa América. Costa Rica advanced to the play-in.

Q2 Stadium, Austin
Attendance: 19,850[38]
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain
Attendance: 9,438
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)

United States won 4–2 on aggregate, advanced to the Finals, and qualified to the 2024 Copa América. Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the play-in.

Independence Park, Kingston
Referee: Tori Penso (United States)
BMO Field, Toronto
Attendance: 17,588
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)

4–4 on aggregate. Jamaica won on away goals, advanced to the Finals, and qualified for the 2024 Copa América. Canada advanced to the play-in.

Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés, Tegucigalpa
Attendance: 22,444
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Attendance: 70,078
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

2–2 on aggregate. Mexico won 4–2 on penalties, advanced to the Finals, and qualified for the 2024 Copa América. Honduras advanced to the play-in.

Nations League Finals

Seeding

The four teams were ranked based on their results in both legs of the quarter-finals to determine the semi-final matchups. The first seed played the fourth seed and the second seed played the third seed.[40]

Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Bracket

All match times are in EDT (UTC−4) as listed by CONCACAF (local times are in parentheses).[41]

Semi-finals

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 40,926[42]
Referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras)
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 40,926[43]
Referee: Walter López (Guatemala)

Third place play-off

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Referee: Tori Penso (United States)

Final

AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Attendance: 59,471
Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)

Goalscorers

There were 101 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 2.81 goals per match.

5 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes

  1. ^ The Martinique v Curaçao match, originally scheduled at 16:00 EDT (UTC−4),[9] was rescheduled to 20:00 EDT due to logistical reasons.[16]
  2. ^ Haiti played their home match against Cuba at Estadio Panamericano in San Cristóbal (Dominican Republic) due to the ongoing Haitian crisis.[23]
  3. ^ Cuba played their home match against Honduras at the Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) instead of their regular stadium Estadio Antonio Maceo which did not meet CONCACAF requirements for hosting the match at night.[30]
  4. ^ Haiti played their home match against Jamaica at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) due to the ongoing Haitian crisis.[31]
  5. ^ The Jamaica–Canada match was postponed from its original start time (17 November at 19:00) due to weather conditions caused by a tropical storm.[39]

References

  1. ^ a b c "CONCACAF announces schedule for 2023/24 CONCACAF Nations League presented by Qatar Airways". CONCACAF. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "2023-24 CONCACAF Nations League Match Schedule" (PDF). CONCACAF. 29 June 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "CONCACAF announces formats for men's national team competitions for the 2023–2026 cycle". CONCACAF. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "CONCACAF Nations League Regulations 2023" (PDF). CONCACAF. May 2023 [Approved on 27 April 2023]. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Concacaf Disciplinary Committee decision regarding Nicaragua and the Eligibility of Players" (Press release). CONCACAF. 12 June 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  6. ^ "CONCACAF confirms details for 2023/24 CONCACAF Nations League official draw". CONCACAF. 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  7. ^ Reidy, Paul (3 May 2023). "Concacaf Nations League 23/24 draw to be staged on 16 May". Diario AS. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Draw delivers groups for 2023/24 CONCACAF Nations League presented by Qatar Airways". CONCACAF. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Concacaf confirms September schedule for 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage matches". Miami: CONCACAF. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. ^ "2023-24 Concacaf Nations League match schedule September v5" (PDF). CONCACAF. 31 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Concacaf confirms October schedule for 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage matches". Miami: CONCACAF. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  12. ^ "2023-24 Concacaf Nations League match schedule October" (PDF). CONCACAF. 5 October 2023.
  13. ^ "Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 Curacao (Sep 7, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Panama 3-0 Martinique (Sep 7, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Guatemala 2-0 El Salvador (Sep 7, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  16. ^ Lordinot, Daniel (10 September 2023). "Football : Curaçao vs Martinique, l'affiche de la 2e journée de la ligue des nations à Fort-de-France" [Football : Curaçao vs. Martinique on Matchay 2 of the Nations League in Fort-de-France] (in French). France Info. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Martinique 1-0 Curaçao (Sep 10, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Guatemala 1-1 Panama (Sep 10, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Martinique 1-0 El Salvador (Oct 13, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  20. ^ "Panama 3-0 Guatemala (Oct 17, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  21. ^ "El Salvador 0-0 Martinique (Oct 17, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Curacao 5-3 Trinidad and Tobago (Oct 17, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  23. ^ Legupeterson, Alexandre (11 August 2023). "Football : Une belle possibilité s'offre à Haïti pour jouer la Copa America" [Soccer: Haiti's Prospects Brighten for Copa America Participation] (in French). Le Nouvelliste. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Haiti 0-0 Cuba (Sep 8, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Grenada 1-1 Suriname (Sep 8, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  26. ^ "Jamaica 1-0 Honduras (Sep 8, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Cuba 1-0 Suriname (Sep 12, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Suriname 1-1 Haiti (Oct 12, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  29. ^ "Grenada 1-4 Jamaica (Oct 12, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  30. ^ "Cuba recibirá como local a Honduras en República Dominicana por no contar con luz en su estadio" [Cuba to host Honduras in Dominican Republic due to lack of electricity in its stadium] (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Diario Libre. EFE. 23 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  31. ^ Zulmé, Rodney (4 October 2023). "Haïti jouera à Port of Spain, ses prochains matchs à domicile" [Haiti will play in Port Spain, their next home matches] (in French). TELEMIX. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
  32. ^ "Honduras 4-0 Cuba (Oct 15, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  33. ^ "Suriname 4-0 Grenada (Oct 15, 2023) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  34. ^ "Selección de Panamá escala posición en Ranking de Concacaf" (in Spanish). RPC Televisión. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  35. ^ a b "Concacaf confirms 23/24 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal pairings". Miami: CONCACAF. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  36. ^ "Concacaf confirms November schedule for 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League matches". Miami: CONCACAF. 31 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  37. ^ "2023-24 Concacaf Nations League match schedule November" (PDF). CONCACAF. 7 November 2023.
  38. ^ "U.S. Men's National Team Earns Crucial 3-0 Win against Trinidad and Tobago in First Leg of Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal Round". U.S. Soccer. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  39. ^ Morris, Jim (17 November 2023). "Berth to Copa America at stake as Canada takes on Jamaica in CONCACAF Nations League quarters". CBC Sports. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  40. ^ "Concacaf confirms Concacaf Nations League Semifinals and Play-In pairings and schedule". CONCACAF. 22 November 2023.
  41. ^ "Tickets now on sale for Concacaf Nations League Play-In matches in Dallas". Miami: CONCACAF. 24 January 2024.
  42. ^ "U.S. Men's National Team advances to 2024 CONCACAF Nations League Final with 3-1 semifinal win over Jamaica". Arlington, Texas: United States Soccer Federation. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  43. ^ "Mexico 3-0 Panama (Mar 21, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. 21 March 2024. Retrieved 21 March 2024.

External links