What’s at stake in final Concacaf Nations League window

MIAMI – The 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League resumes on Thursday with quarterfinals in League A, the final window of the group stage in League B, and the Play-In round for the top teams from League C.

League A Quarterfinals

The high stakes begin with the League A Quarterfinals, as eight teams are vying to reach the 2025 CNL Finals and book their place in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.

The two-legged quarterfinal matchups start on Thursday night with the defending champion United States visiting Jamaica at the National Stadium in Kingston, and Costa Rica welcoming Panama in the latest edition of their Central American rivalry at Estadio Nacional in San José, Costa Rica.

On Friday, Suriname makes its quarterfinals debut by welcoming Canada to the Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion in Paramaribo, while Honduras hosts Mexico to begin their series at the Estadio Francisco Morazán in San Pedro Sula.

The teams in League A will return to action on Monday, November 18, beginning with the U.S. hosting Jamaica at CITYPARK in St. Louis, Missouri, while Panama will welcome Costa Rica to the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City. The quarterfinals will wrap up on Tuesday, November 19 with Canada and Suriname meeting at BMO Field in Toronto, followed by Mexico and Honduras at the Estadio Nemesio Díez in Toluca.

The winner of each series will advance to the 2025 Concacaf Nations League Finals at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles, CA, and will qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, while the four defeated teams will progress to the Gold Cup Prelims.

League B group stage conclusion

It is also a decisive window in League B, as the top teams in the four groups aim to seal their promotion to League A.

Group A will be contested at the Estadio Cuscatlán in El Salvador during November. The hosts lead the group on nine points and will seek to clinch the top spot and the Gold Cup berth against Bonaire on Thursday and Montserrat on Sunday. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, hosts in October, earned a significant victory against the leaders to pull within two points of first place. Bonaire and Montserrat are third and fourth with four and three points, respectively, and will seek to avoid relegation and make a late run into one of the top spots.

Group B could come down to a photo finish at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curaçao. Saint Lucia leads the group with nine points, with the hosts in second place with seven. Both teams meet on the last matchday, which could decide the group depending on Friday’s results. Grenada and Saint Martin are third and fourth on four and three points, respectively, and will face each other with relegation implications as part of Monday’s lineup.

Things are more straightforward in Group C, with Haiti (12 points) needing only a point to secure first place in the group. Puerto Rico and Sint Maarten are second and third, respectively, on goal difference, each holding six points. El Huracán Azul will host the November encounters at Estadio Centroamericano de Mayagüez. Aruba sits at the bottom with zero points but has two matches to determine its fate.

The Dominican Republic sits at the top of Group D with 12 points and will host the final stretch at Estadio Cibao FC in Santo Domingo. Bermuda is in second place with nine points and needs a win over Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday to set up a potential winner-take-all scenario with the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. Antigua and Barbuda has zero points in hand and seeks to avoid relegation, while Dominica sits in third place with three points and will look to evade any late surprises.

At the conclusion of play, the group winners will be promoted to League A and qualify for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, while the two best runners-up will advance to the Gold Cup Prelims. 

Play-In

The three group winners and best second place in League C will face the fifth and sixth ranked teams from the League A group stage to contest the Play-In round where a spot in the Gold Cup Prelims is at stake.

Saint Kitts and Nevis hosts Cuba on Thursday to kick things off with the return leg on Monday. Belize will host French Guiana on Thursday before the two conclude their series on Tuesday at the Dr. Ir. Franklin Essed Stadion in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Friday’s encounters will see Cayman Islands host Guadeloupe and Barbados host Guyana. The teams will then trade hosting privileges in the second-leg encounters on Tuesday.