Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, El Salvador clash for top of group in League B

MIAMI – The 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League continues with group leaders in League B aiming to stay unbeaten and move closer to sealing promotion.

Groups A, B and C will be on display across encounters on Thursday and Friday. El Salvador, Saint Lucia, and Haiti will seek to keep their standing at the top of their respective groups.

Bonaire vs. Montserrat

Bonaire meets Montserrat in Group A on Thursday at Arnos Vale Stadium in Arnos Vale, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

After a draw and a loss in September, Bonaire will be on the hunt for more points to climb the table. Striker Quincy Hoeve, who scored in the opener of this year’s tournament, and Jort van der Sande are crucial on offense for Bonaire.

Montserrat only scored a single goal over the first two matches when Brandon Barzey found the back of the net. They conceded six combined goals in two losses and will seek to improve defensively as they attempt to earn their first points.

The meeting will be the first for the nations in the CNL and the second time overall. The only other encounter resulted in a scoreless draw during the Preliminary Round of the 2014 Caribbean Cup.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines vs. El Salvador

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines hosts El Salvador in Group A on Thursday at Arnos Vale Stadium in Arnos Vale, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

First place in the group is on the line in this pivotal encounter. A victory would lift the hosts above El Salvador in the standings.

While the Vincy Heat have the advantage of being at home, they face a stiff test against the leaders. La Selecta displayed their quality in the final third in September, tallying six goals over two wins to secure the top spot.

Emerson Mauricio scored in both of the El Salvador victories and captain Alexander Larín provided assists in each as well. The Central Americans are up against one of the tournament’s standouts so far. League B Best XI goalkeeper Lemus Christopher made ten saves and registered a clean sheet as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines earned four points during that window.

El Salvador has won all three meetings against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with 12 goals scored and three conceded.

Sint Maarten vs. Puerto Rico

Sint Maarten meets Puerto Rico in Group C on Friday at Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium in Oranjestad, Aruba. This will be the first matchup ever between these two teams.

Sint Maarten defeated Aruba 2-nil in its opening game, thanks to a rocket from CNL’s all-time leading goal scorer Gerwin Lake. The ensuing match was a different story as they got blanked 6-nil by Haiti.

Puerto Rico was also defeated by Haiti but bounced back with a 1-nil victory over Aruba. Both teams hope for a better offensive output after scoring just two goals each.

Grenada vs. Curaçao

Grenada and Curaçao meet in Group B on Friday at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.

Both nations had similar results in the opening window of the tournament as they both lost to Saint Lucia 2-1 but enjoyed victories over Saint Martin. Tied with three points in Group B, this match will be crucial for the standings.

Curaçao leads the all-time series with 4 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses. The last time they played each other was a massive 10-0 victory for Curaçao in the 2018-19 qualifiers for CNL.

Regan Charles-Cook is a factor for Grenada as he scored in the opening match and completed 79% of his passes. Chad Phillip was also stout in net with seven saves in September, including a clean sheet.

Curaçao will rely on the duo of Juninho Bacuna and Jearl Margaritha to anchor the offense as they did in first window.

Aruba vs. Haiti

Aruba meets Haiti in Group C on Friday at Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium in Oranjestad, Aruba. Two teams on opposite ends of the table will face each other for the first time in CNL.

Aruba goalkeeper and captain Matthew Lentink was outstanding in September despite the two losses, ad he finished with nine saves and four clearances. He has his work cut out for him against Duckens Nazon, who finished September with four goals and an assist.

Fabrice Picault was also influential for the group leaders with eight combined shots and an assist in each match as they earned all six possible points.

Saint Martin vs. Saint Lucia

Group leaders Saint Lucia meet Saint Martin in Group B on Friday at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia.

Saint Lucia looks to stay undefeated and keep creating distance in the standings against a team seeking their first points. Donavan Jn Baptiste and Arkell Jude-Boyd are the driving force for Saint Lucia on offense and look to keep the momentum going.

Saint Martin conceded six combined goals in September without scoring any, so they are looking to get something going in this window to avoid falling closer to relegation. Goalkeeper Ulrick Luperon posted five saves in the team’s previous meeting.