The road to the Nations League final and the 2024 Copa America is underway as the quarterfinals for Nations League play is set. Following group stage play in League A, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, and Honduras have advanced due to placing in the top two of their respective groups, to be placed against the seeded teams from last season’s Nations League. Despite the United States men’s national team winning the Nations League, they were not the top seeded Concacaf team due to the placing being based on the Concacaf Rankings which has Mexico, the United States, Canada, and Costa Rica as the order of the seeded teams.
The winners of these two legged ties will not only play for the Nations League final that the USMNT could win for the third consecutive time, but they’ll also get a chance to play in Copa America alongside the CONMEBOL teams in that tournament. Getting to face teams like Argentina and Brazil ahead of the 2026 World Cup will be a great learning experience for Concacaf sides, especially the youthful USMNT. The losers of the quarterfinals will then play a playoff to determine the final two teams to represent Concacaf, bringing the total number of teams from the federation in Copa America to six.
With the tournament taking place in the United States, it will provide a stage to prepare for hosting the World Cup in 2026. Host cities for the Copa America have yet to be announced but during the 2016 edition that also took place in the United States, games were played in Chicago, East Rutherford, Foxborough, Glendale, Houston, Pasadena, Philadephia, Santa Clara and Seattle.
Among those cities, Foxborough, East Rutherford, Houston, Pasadena, Philadelphia, and Seattle will all be host cities during the 2026 World Cup.
Nations League quarterfinal schedule
Thursday, November 16, 2023
United States vs. Trinidad and Tobago
Costa Rica vs. Panama
Friday, November 17, 2023
Jamaica vs. Canada
Honduras vs. Mexico
Monday, November 20, 2023
Trinidad and Tobago vs. United States
Panama vs. Costa Rica
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Canada vs. Jamaica
Mexico vs. Honduras
Another chance to put Couva behind them
During this tournament, the United States will head to Couva to face Trinidad & Tobago with a spot in a knockout tournament on their side. While it’s a match that this edition of the USMNT shouldn’t struggle in under Gregg Berhalter, the memories of missing the 2018 World Cup will only fade completely by continuously taking care of business no matter where the USMNT plays. They have a chance to do that in facing Trinidad & Tobago yet again. Pressure from knockout tournaments will only make the team better in the long run and getting past the historical significance of Couva provides an excellent springboard for the Copa Ameica.
