2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League A

The 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League A is the top division of the 2024–25 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, the fourth season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The initial group stage will be held from 5 September to 15 October 2024.[1][2]

2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League A
Tournament details
DatesGroup phase:
5 September – 15 October 2024
Quarter-finals:
11–19 November 2024
Nations League Finals:
20–23 March 2025
Teams16
Relegated Cuba
 French Guiana
 Guadeloupe
 Guyana
Tournament statistics
Matches played21
Goals scored53 (2.52 per match)
Top scorer(s)10 players
(2 goals each)
All statistics correct as of 15 October 2024.

League A will culminate with the Nations League Finals in March 2025 to crown the champions of the CONCACAF Nations League.[3]

This edition of the CONCACAF Nations League A will serve to determine the four teams that qualify directly for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States. The top four teams will qualify for the final tournament while the remaining League A teams can still qualify via the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification tournament.[4]

Format

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League A maintains the same format introduced for the 2023–24 season, consisting of a group stage, a quarter-finals round and the finals.[5] The 16 involved teams entering the competition in the group stage or directly into the quarter-finals according to their position in the CONCACAF Rankings (as of 31 March 2024), with the 12 lowest-ranked teams entering the group stage and the top 4 ranked teams receiving a direct pass to the quarter-final round.[3]

The group stage consists of two groups of six teams with each team playing four matches against opponents of its group (two at home and two away) on a Swiss-system basis. The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarter-finals where they will join the 4 teams that qualified directly to this round. The bottom two teams from each group will be relegated to the 2026–27 CONCACAF Nations League B, but will also advance to the play-in round, in which they will join four teams from League C in order to compete to qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification tournament.[3]

The quarter-finals will be played on a two-legged home-and-away basis with the four winners advancing to the Nations League Finals and qualifying directly to the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Nations League Finals, consisting of a semi-final round, third place play-off and the final match, will be played in March 2025 at a centralised venue to be announced.[3]

2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification

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As announced by CONCACAF in February 2023, the 2024–25 CONCACAF Nations League will serve as a qualifier for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[5] League A teams will qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup final tournament or the Gold Cup qualification tournament (also called CONCACAF Gold Cup prelims) or advance to the play-in round based on their performance in the group stage and quarter-finals round, as follows:[4]

  • The four quarter-finals winners (i.e., the 4 teams involved in the finals) will qualify directly for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
  • The four quarter-finals losers will qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification.
  • The third and fourth placed teams of each group will also qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification.
  • The fifth and sixth placed teams of each group will advance to the play-in round where they will face the top 4 teams in the League C for the last 4 slots in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification.

Teams

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A total of sixteen national teams contest the League A, including the top twelve sides from the 2023–24 season and four promoted from the 2023–24 League B.

Team changes

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The following are the team changes in League A regarding the 2023–24 season:

Incoming
Promoted from
Nations League B
Outgoing
Relegated to
Nations League B

Teams promoted from League B

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French Guiana, Guadeloupe and Guyana reached the top flight of the CONCACAF Nations League for the first time, with French Guaiana and Guyana spending the first three seasons in League B while Guadeloupe started in League C in the inaugural edition before spending two seasons in League B. Nicaragua had already been promoted to the League A in the previous season but were disqualified for regulatory reasons before the start of the season, so this will be their first appearance in CONCACAF Nations League A.[6]

Seeding

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The pots were confirmed on 19 April 2024, with the lowest twelve League A ranked teams, based on the CONCACAF Rankings as of 31 March 2024, being split into six pots of two teams. The top four ranked teams (Mexico, the United States, Panama and Canada) were directly seeded in the quarter-finals.[3]

Pot Team Rank[7] Pts
1   Jamaica 5 1,677
  Costa Rica 6 1,621
2   Honduras 7 1,431
  Guatemala 9 1,395
3   Trinidad and Tobago 10 1,344
  Martinique 11 1,322
4   Cuba 13 1,158
  Guadeloupe 15 1,119
5   Nicaragua 16 1,112
  Suriname 17 1,070
6   French Guiana 18 1,058
  Guyana 19 1,054

Draw

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The group stage draw was held on 6 May 2024, 19:00 EDT (UTC−4), in Miami, Florida, United States,[8] where the twelve involved teams were drawn into two groups of six. The draw began by randomly selecting a team from Pot 1 and placing them into Group A and then selecting the remaining team from Pot 1 and placing them into Group B. The draw continued with the same procedure done for the remaining pots.

The draw resulted in the following groups:[8]

Group A
Pos Team
A1   Costa Rica
A2   Guatemala
A3   Martinique
A4   Guadeloupe
A5   Suriname
A6   Guyana
Group B
Pos Team
B1   Jamaica
B2   Honduras
B3   Trinidad and Tobago
B4   Cuba
B5   Nicaragua
B6   French Guiana

Group stage

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The fixture list was confirmed by CONCACAF on 23 May 2024.[1][2][9] All match times are in EDT (UTC−4) as listed by CONCACAF (local times, if different, are in parentheses).[10][11]

Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation            
1   Costa Rica 4 2 2 0 7 1 +6 8 Advance to quarter-finals 3–0 3–0
2   Suriname 4 2 1 1 9 4 +5 7 1–1 5–1
3   Guatemala 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 7 Qualification for Gold Cup prelims 0–0 3–1
4   Martinique 4 1 2 1 4 5 −1 5 0–0 2–2
5   Guadeloupe (R) 4 1 1 2 1 4 −3 4 Advance to play-in and relegation to League B 1–0 0–1
6   Guyana (R) 4 0 1 3 5 13 −8 1 1–3 1–3
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
Guyana  1–3  Suriname
Glasgow   43' (pen.) Report
Costa Rica  3–0  Guadeloupe
Report
Guatemala  3–1  Martinique
Report Appin   51'

Guadeloupe  1–0  Suriname
Leborgne   67' Report
Attendance: 1,850[15]
Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada)
Martinique  2–2  Guyana
Report I. Jones   14', 24'
Guatemala  0–0  Costa Rica
Report

Guadeloupe  0–1  Martinique
Report Labeau   86'
Suriname  1–1  Costa Rica
Vlijter   34' Report Alcócer   12'
Guyana  1–3  Guatemala
Duke-McKenna   31' Report

Costa Rica  3–0  Guatemala
Report
Martinique  0–0  Guadeloupe
Report
Attendance: 1,550[25]
Suriname  5–1  Guyana
Report J. Jones   13'

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation            
1   Jamaica 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3 8 Advance to quarter-finals 0–0 0–0
2   Honduras 4 2 1 1 8 4 +4 7 1–2 4–0
3   Nicaragua 4 2 1 1 5 5 0 7 Qualification for Gold Cup prelims 0–2 3–2
4   Trinidad and Tobago 4 1 2 1 5 7 −2 5 3–1 0–0
5   Cuba (R) 4 0 3 1 4 6 −2 3 Advance to play-in and relegation to League B 1–1 2–2
6   French Guiana (R) 4 0 1 3 4 7 −3 1 2–3 0–1
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
(R) Relegated
French Guiana  0–1  Nicaragua
Report Talavera   90+5'
Jamaica  0–0  Cuba
Report
Honduras  4–0  Trinidad and Tobago
Report

Cuba  1–1  Nicaragua
Espino   42' (pen.) Report Medina   90+7'
Trinidad and Tobago  0–0  French Guiana
Report
Honduras  1–2  Jamaica
Ruiz   50' Report

French Guiana  2–3  Honduras
Report
Cuba  2–2  Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Nicaragua  0–2  Jamaica
Report

Jamaica  0–0  Honduras
Report
Trinidad and Tobago  3–1  Cuba
Report Matos   62'
Nicaragua  3–2  French Guiana
Report

Quarter-finals

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The quarter-finals pairings were determined based on the CONCACAF Rankings published after the October 2024 FIFA Match Window for the four pre-seeded teams and the group stage results for the winners and runners-up of each group.[4]

Seeded teams
Pos Team Rank[a] Pts
1   Mexico 1 1,900
2   Canada 2 1,807
3   United States 3 1,776
4   Panama 4 1,730
  1. ^ CONCACAF rankings (as of 16 October 2024)[40]
Group stage winners and runners-up
Rank Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 A   Costa Rica 4 2 2 0 7 1 +6 8
2 B   Jamaica 4 2 2 0 4 1 +3 8
3 A   Suriname 4 2 1 1 9 4 +5 7
4 B   Honduras 4 2 1 1 8 4 +4 7
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

The match-ups will be as follows:

  • Quarter-final 1 (QF1): Fourth-ranked pre-seeded team vs. Best ranked group winner
  • Quarter-final 2 (QF2): Third-ranked pre-seeded team vs. Worst ranked group winner
  • Quarter-final 3 (QF3): Second-ranked pre-seeded team vs. Best ranked group runner-up
  • Quarter-final 4 (QF4): First-ranked pre-seeded team vs. Worst ranked group runner-up

Each tie is played on a home-and-away two-legged basis, with the order of legs being decided by the four pre-seeded teams that received a direct bye to the quarter-finals (Canada, Mexico, Panama and the United States). If the aggregate score is level at the end of the second leg the away goals rule would be applied. If away goals were also equal, then 30 minutes of extra time would be played without taking into account the away goals rule during this time. If still tied after extra time, the tie would be decided by a penalty shoot-out.

Winners will advance to the Nations League Finals and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, while losers will qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification.

Summary

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The first legs will be played on 14 and 15 November, and the second legs will be played on 18 and 19 November 2024.[41]

Team 1Agg.Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Costa Rica  QF1  Panama14 Nov18 Nov
Jamaica  QF2  United States14 Nov18 Nov
Suriname  QF3  Canada15 Nov19 Nov
Honduras  QF4  Mexico15 Nov19 Nov

Matches

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The fixture list was confirmed by CONCACAF on 23 May 2024,[1][2] with the matchups being confirmed on 16 October 2024.[41] All match times are in EST (UTC−5) as listed by CONCACAF (local times, if different, are in parentheses).[42]

Costa Rica  Match 75  Panama
Report
Panama  Match 93  Costa Rica
Report

Winner advances to the Finals and qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Loser qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification


Jamaica  Match 76  United States
Report
United States  Match 94  Jamaica
Report

Winner advances to the Finals and qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Loser qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification


Suriname  Match 81  Canada
Report
Canada  Match 101  Suriname
Report

Winner advances to the Finals and qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Loser qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification


Honduras  Match 82  Mexico
Report
Mexico  Match 102  Honduras
Report

Winner advances to the Finals and qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Loser qualifies for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification

Nations League Finals

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Seeding

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The four teams were ranked based on their results in the two quarter-finals legs to determine the semi-final matchups. The first seed played the fourth seed and the second seed played the third seed.

Seed QF Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 QF1 QF1 winners 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 QF2 QF2 winners 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 QF3 QF3 winners 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 QF4 QF4 winners 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: November 18, 2024. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Bracket

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
March 20 – Inglewood, CA
 
 
Quarter-final winner ranked 2
 
March 23 – Inglewood, CA
 
Quarter-final winner ranked 3
 
Winner Match 1
 
March 20 – Inglewood, CA
 
Winner Match 2
 
Quarter-final winner ranked 1
 
 
Quarter-final winner ranked 4
 
Third place play-off
 
 
March 23 – Inglewood, CA
 
 
Loser Match 1
 
 
Loser Match 2

Semi-finals

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Quarter-final winner ranked 2Match 1Quarter-final winner ranked 3

Quarter-final winner ranked 1Match 2Quarter-final winner ranked 4

Third place play-off

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Loser Match 1Match 3Loser Match 2

Final

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Goalscorers

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There have been 62 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 2.58 goals per match (as of 14 October 2024).

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes

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  1. ^ Martinique will play their home match against Guadeloupe at Stade Roger Zami in Le Gosier (Guadeloupe) instead of the originally scheduled stadium Stade Pierre-Aliker, Fort-de-France due to security reasons related to the 2024 social unrest in Martinique.[22][23][24]
  2. ^ French Guiana played their home match against Honduras at Stade omnisport, Sinnamary instead of the originally scheduled Stade Municipal Dr. Edmard Lama, Remire-Montjoly which did not meet CONCACAF requirements (playing field in poor condition).[32][33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Concacaf announces match schedule for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League". Miami: CONCACAF. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League Match Schedule" (PDF). CONCACAF. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Concacaf confirms details for fourth edition of Concacaf Nations League". Miami, FL: CONCACAF. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "CONCACAF Nations League Regulations 2024" (PDF). CONCACAF. 17 April 2024 [Approved on March 2024]. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  5. ^ a b "CONCACAF announces formats for men's national team competitions for the 2023–2026 cycle". CONCACAF. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Nicaragua asciende a la Liga A de la Liga de Naciones CONCACAF" [Nicaragua promoted to League A of the CONCACAF Nations League] (in Spanish). El Gráfico. EFE. 18 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Men's National Team CONCACAF RANKING INDEX". CONCACAF. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Draw delivers groups for fourth edition of Concacaf Nations League". Miami, FL: CONCACAF. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  9. ^ "2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League Match Schedule v2" (PDF). stthomassource.com. CONCACAF. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Concacaf confirms September schedule for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage matches". Miami, FL: CONCACAF. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Concacaf confirms October schedule for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League Group Stage matches". Miami, FL: CONCACAF. 18 September 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Suriname 3-1 Guyana (Sep 5, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Costa Rica 3-0 Guadeloupe (Sep 5, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Guatemala 3-1 Martinique (Sep 5, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Guadeloupe 1-0 Suriname (Sep 9, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Martinique 2-2 Guyana (Sep 9, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Guatemala 0-0 Costa Rica (Sep 9, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Martinique 1-0 Guadeloupe (Oct 11, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Suriname 1-1 Costa Rica (Oct 11, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Guatemala 3-1 Guyana (Oct 11, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Costa Rica 3-0 Guatemala (Oct 15, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  22. ^ CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (12 October 2024). "The League A (Group B) match between Martinique and Guadeloupe..." (Tweet). Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "Changement de lieu pour le match retour du Derby des Antilles" [Change of venue for the return leg of the Antilles Derby] (in French). Ligue de football de la Martinique. 13 October 2024. Retrieved 13 October 2024 – via Facebook.
  24. ^ Boutrin, Christian (13 October 2024). "CONCACAF : Le match retour entre la Guadeloupe et la Martinique se fera au Gosier" [CONCACAF : The return match between Guadeloupe and Martinique will be played in Le Gosier] (in French). Radio Caraïbes International. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Martinique 0-0 Guadeloupe (Oct 15, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Suriname 5-1 Guyana (Oct 15, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Nicaragua 1-0 French Guiana (Sep 6, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  28. ^ "Jamaica 0-0 Cuba (Sep 6, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  29. ^ "Honduras 4-0 Trin & Tob (Sep 6, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  30. ^ "Cuba 1-1 Nicaragua (Sep 9, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  31. ^ "Trin & Tob 0-0 French Guiana (Sep 9, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 11 September 2024.
  32. ^ Roca, Gustavo (9 October 2024). "Concacaf sorprende con cambio de última hora para el Guayana Francesa-Honduras" [CONCACAF surprises with last-minute change for French Guiana-Honduras match]. La Prensa (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Changement de lieu pour le match Guyane-Honduras" [Change of venue for the Guiana-Honduras match] (in French). Ligue de football de la Guyane. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  34. ^ "Honduras 3-2 French Guiana (Oct 10, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  35. ^ "Cuba 2-2 Trin & Tob (Oct 10, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  36. ^ "Jamaica 2-2 Nicaragua (Oct 10, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  37. ^ "Jamaica 0-0 Honduras (Oct 14, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  38. ^ "Trin & Tob 3-1 Cuba (Oct 14, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  39. ^ "Nicaragua 3-2 French Guiana (Oct 14, 2024) Final Score". ESPN. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  40. ^ "Men's National Team CONCACAF RANKING INDEX (As of October 16, 2024)". CONCACAF. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  41. ^ a b "Concacaf confirms 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal and Play-In matchups". Miami, FL: CONCACAF. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  42. ^ "Concacaf confirms November schedule for 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League matches". Miami, FL: CONCACAF. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
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