MIAMI, Florida – The Concacaf Nations League is back and no doubt plenty of fireworks can be expected in League C of the 2023-24 edition.
League C will have a new look to it this time around, with nine teams divided into three groups of three teams. The winner of each group will earn promotion to League B, while the second-place team with the best record will punch a ticket to League B as well.
Group A
After barely missing out on promotion and a trip to the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims, Bonaire will be hungrier than ever to have a successful Nations League campaign. Ayrton Cicilia was nothing short of brilliant in the 2022-23 CNL, with five goals scored, third-best in League C.
Bonaire will be joined in Group A by a pair of teams on the rise in Saint Martin and Anguilla. Saint Martin finished third in their group in 2022-23, with two draws serving as the highlights.
When it comes to Saint Martin, the name that immediately comes to mind is Yannick Bellachasse, who is fresh off of scoring a goal for club side Junior Stars in the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield.
Anguilla continue to show improvement with each match and finished second in their group in 2022-23, a best ever finish, allowing just four goals in their five matches.
Group B
Aruba certainly showed in the last CNL that they are capable of finding the back of the net. In four games they totaled five goals, with Terence Groothusen leading the way with two scores. A team that spent its initial CNL campaign in League B will be keen to make a return.
The other teams in Group B, Cayman Islands and US Virgin Islands, had their fair share of bright moments in the previous CNL and will try to use those as building blocks.
The USVI captured a memorable last-minute 3-2 win against Turks and Caicos Islands and were unbeaten after two rounds, while Cayman Islands also started off unbeaten in two matches with back-to-back 1-1 draws against British Virgin Islands.
Group C
Similar to Aruba, Dominica’s first CNL foray in 2019-20 came in League B, so they will be targeting a return in 2023-24, but it won’t be easy against a pair of sides with some proven goal scorers in Turks and Caicos Islands and British Virgin Islands.
Julian Wade and Briel Thomas were two of the players who scored in the last CNL for Dominica and they will be called upon again. Meanwhile, Turks and Caicos Islands boast one of the best strikers in the entire Caribbean in Billy Forbes.
The veteran FW scored four goals in the 2022-23 CNL, including a brace in the final matchday 2-1 win at Bonaire. Turks and Caicos Islands were simply superb in finishing the last League C, claiming three wins in their final three matches.
British Virgin Islands will look to FW Tyler Forbes to keep turning heads. The 21-year-old already has four career goals with BVI in just 16 games and seems to get better with every opportunity.
