MIAMI, Florida – This week in Concacaf will feature some key matches in both the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup and the 2023 Central American Cup, while the teams in Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship Qualifying will aim to punch their tickets to next year’s Championship.
2023 Concacaf Central American Cup
The 2023 Concacaf Central American Cup enters its final week and no doubt many eyes will be drawn to Tuesday’s crucial Group B finales, as Honduran giants Olimpia host Xelaju of Guatemala and Panama’s Independiente take on CD FAS of El Salvador. The two matches will be played at the same time, adding to the excitement of it all.
Former Concacaf champions and two-time Concacaf League winners Olimpia will look to win with authority against Xelaju in order to improve their goal difference in the table. But Independiente are in the driver’s seat when it comes to qualification, as they only require a draw at home against FAS to secure their place in the next round, and leave Olimpia stranded in third-place. However, a FAS win at Independiente and a two-goal win for Olimpia would be enough to catapult the Hondurans into second place and the knockout stage.
The Comunicaciones-Herediano Group C match-up on Wednesday and the Alajuelense-Motagua Group D contest on Thursday will determine which teams finish first and second in those groups, while four teams in Group A will be vying for the top two spots, including a massive affair between second-place Cartagines and third-place Universitario on Tuesday.
2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup
The 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup continues with its second week of action, headlined by what should be a very entertaining affair on Thursday night when Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic travel to Suriname to battle Robinhood. Cibao played to a draw in their opener against fellow Dominican Republic side Atletico Pantoja and will be eager to secure their first win of the tournament. Robinhood will have other ideas, though, as the club are fresh off of winning the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield and will be powered by Suriname National Team striker Shaquille Cairo, who led the Shield with 10 goals.
Another match to keep an eye on will be the debut of Shield runners-up Golden Lion of Martinique against Defence Force of Trinidad and Tobago. With the dynamic goalscoring duo of Alvyn Lamasine (6 goals in Shield) and legendary FW Kevin Parsemain, Golden Lion have the goods to go toe-to-toe with the former Concacaf champions.
2023 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship Qualifying
Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship Qualifying will wrap up on Wednesday, but one of the key games on the docket for the week will be Tuesday’s Guatemala-Costa Rica affair. With those two teams dueling for the top spot in Group C, that contest will prove decisive as to which team will advance to next year’s Championship.
