The CONCACAF Nations League draw in Qatar on Monday will give double importance to the teams going to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The group stage will serve as a Gold Cup qualifying round, as the top teams from each group in League A will advance to the biennial championship tournament. More importantly, the June matches in the group stage of the League of Nations will be used as an opportunity to test the roster in competitive matches, as there are only a few international windows between now and Qatar in November.
At the moment, the United States, Canada and Mexico have already booked their tickets for Qatar while Costa Rica will be hoping to join them as they have a front playoff with New Zealand on 13 June which will determine their place in Group E.
Based on the results of the last edition, El Salvador, Grenada, Jamaica and Suriname were all promoted to League A of the Nations League with traditional CONCACAF powers. Monday’s draw was kind to the United States.
The results are displayed below:
In the league
Group A: Mexico, Jamaica, Suriname
Group B: Costa Rica, Panama, Martinique
Group C: Canada, Honduras, Curacao
Group D: United States, El Salvador, Grenada
League B
Group A: Cuba, Guadeloupe, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados
Group B: Haiti, Bermuda, Guyana, Monsanto
Group C: Trinidad and 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, US Virgin Islands, Saint Martin
Group B: St. Kitts and Nevis, Aruba, St. Martin
Group C: Saint Lucia, Dominica, Anguilla
Group D: Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands
While Costa Rica are drawn into the most balanced group, the United States will face two newly promoted teams in Group A in El Salvador and Grenada. For the United States, it would be beneficial if the away leg in El Salvador comes first to give more tests. With Mexico landing Jamaica and Canada getting Honduras in their respective groups, the Reggae Boys and Los Catrachos wanted to secure Gold Cup qualifiers after a disappointing World Cup qualifier.
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The winners and runners-up of League A and the winners of League B will automatically qualify for the 2023 Gold Cup. The second-placed team in League B and the winners of Group C will advance to the playoffs for the 2023 Gold Cup finals.
The United States would like to retain their title in a tournament that could be constructive for the players. Geo Reina expressed his hope that the United States could defend their status as king of the CONCACAF because their final win against Mexico helped them qualify for the World Cup.
This will serve as an opportunity for the United States to test the forward options as Ricardo Pepi still has to keep the ball behind the net to lead the line in Qatar. Greg Barhalter will also be able to experiment with different formations, such as the 3-4-3 game, before the start of the World Cup qualifiers.
To secure a place in Qatar, Canada will look to fine-tune their system and give Alfonso Davis and Jr. Howlett a good run together after Howlett’s impressive position in the left wing. Tata Martino’s Mexico could use the tournament to find the best midfield pairing to improve their sputtering attack. There are always small things that can be used in these games before the World Cup.
It is a tournament that can be seen as one against the MINO of CONCACAF, but it is important that the teams have the opportunity to face the best given by the federation. For a nation like Curacao, without the League of Nations, they might not be able to recruit more Dutch dual citizens while Jamaica will be looking to harmonize their team after making so many changes before the World Cup qualifiers.
