CURACAO.- The darlings of the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup come together Saturday and get the ball rolling on what may be the most competitive group in League A of the Concacaf Nations League.
In addition to Gold Cup semifinalist Haiti, which pushed eventual champion Mexico to extra time in the penultimate match of the competition, and quarterfinalist Curacao, Costa Rica also sits in Group D. It’s the only group in which all three teams got to the knockout rounds of the tournament, so this weekend’s contest at Ergilio Hato Stadium will be critical for both Caribbean countries looking to get points and move into the final championship in June.
Familiar faces from Haiti’s Cinderella run are back for manager Marc Collat, though midfielder Wilde Donald Guerrier is set to miss out as he resolves his club situation in Azerbaijan. Center back Andrew-Jean Baptiste, forward Duckens Nazon, midfielder Steeven Saba and goalkeeper Johny Placide are on the 20-man squad and provide a strong spine back from the Gold Cup team.
Curacao manager Remko Bicentini can boast of the same, with goalkeeper Eloy Room, center back Darryl Lachman, midfielder Leandro Bacuna and forward Gevaro Nepomuceno. Rangelo Janga also returns to the team. Joint-top scorer with Nazon in Nations League qualification, Janga missed the Gold Cup but is back to bolster the attack.
Both teams will look to build off not only great summers but strong qualification campaigns and good results in previous tournaments. It should be a hard-fought contest with each having plenty to prove.
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