April 6 – Concacaf completed the draw for the second edition of the Concacaf Nations League (CNL) which will serve as a qualifier for the 2023 Gold Cup.
Perhaps the pick of the groups in League A is Group B which will see Panama given the opportunity to gain revenge over Costa Rica which beat them to the final World Cup play-off slot.
World Cup group winners Canada have been drawn with Honduras who finished bottom of final World Qualifying but showed signs of returning to former standards in the final rounds of qualifying. Curaçao are also in the gourp and are something of an unknown quantity having had to pull out of the Gold Cup before kicking a ball after their squad was decimated by the covid-19 virus.
Mexico will face a Jamaican team that has quality in its ranks but has so far not managed to perform to expectations. A fast improving Suriname who have been exploiting their Dutch heritage links will also add an uncertainty to the group play.
The live event in Miami was hosted by TUDN’s sports anchor Lindsay Casinelli and included the participation of Concacaf President Victor Montagliani and Concacaf General Secretary Philippe Moggio, as well as former players Dante Leverock (Bermuda), Paulo Cesar Wanchope (Costa Rica) and Oribe Peralta (Mexico).
The League A group winners and runners up (eight teams) and the League B group winners (four teams) will guarantee slots in the 17th edition of the Gold Cup. A further 12 other teams will have an opportunity to qualify for the tournament via the Gold Cup Prelims. The Prelims will be made up of the League A third-place finishers (four teams), the League B second place finishers (four teams), and the League C group winners (four teams).
Games will be played in the international match windows in June 2022 (double window) and March 2023. The Concacaf Nations League Finals presented by Qatar Airways (CNLF), will be played in June 2023 between the four League A group winners
League A
Group A: Mexico, Jamaica, Suriname
Group B: Costa Rica, Panama, Martinique
Group C: Canada, Honduras, Curaçao
Group D: United States, El Salvador, Grenada
League B
Group A: Cuba, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados
Group B: Haiti, Bermuda, Guyana, Monserrat
Group C: Trinidad & Tobago, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bahamas
Group D: Guatemala, French Guiana, Dominican Republic, Belize
League C
Group A: Bonaire, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten
Group B: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Aruba, Saint Martin
Group C: Saint Lucia, Dominica, Anguilla
Group D: Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands
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