CONCACAF Nations League 2022/2023 - General Thread - Group Stage

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

The information posted by CONCACAF can be found here:
https://www.concacaf.com/nations-league/news/concacaf-announces-details-for-2022-23-concacaf-nations-league-presented-by-qatar-airways/

Although posted about by @narduch in the #CanMNT catchall thread this competition deserves its own thread.

 

When is the draw?
Monday. April 4th ( this is the Monday after our last Octagonal match on Wednesday, March 30th )

What is the format?
Simply put, it's the same format as last time. Groups of three teams for League A. Home and Away matches.
Team A vs Team B
Team B vs Team A
Team A vs Team C
Team C vs Team A
Team B vs Team C
Team C vs Team B

6 matches per group, played over the course of 6 matchdays.
Each team will be playing on 4 of those 6 matchdays.

What are the pots going to look like?

Pot 1
Mexico
USA
Canada
Costa Rica

Pot 2
Panama
Jamaica
El Salvador
Honduras

Pot 3
Curaçao
Martinique
Suriname
Grenada

Canada will play one Pot 2 Team twice ( Home & Away ) and one Pot 3 Team twice ( Home & Away ).

When will the matches be played?
June 2022 Matchday 1   ~ Friday, June 3rd 
June 2022 Matchday 2   ~ Tuesday, June 7th
June 2022 Matchday 3   ~ Friday, June 10th
June 2022 Matchday 4   ~ Tuesday, June 14th

March 2022 Matchday 1   ~ Friday, March 24 2023
March 2023 Matchday 2   ~ Tuesday, March 28 2023

Of those 6 matchdays, on which 4 will Canada play?
As per CONCACAF, since the Intercontinental WCQ match in Qatar will take place at the same time as Matchday 4, Pot 1 Teams (and therefore Canada) will not play on Matchdays 3 and 4. We could still use those dates for the rumoured possible Brazil or Argentina friendly.
One also assumes that given the weather and the desire not to overburden the team going to the Intercontinental WCQ playoff, at least one of the Matchdays in early June will be at home.
( it's likely that Matchday #2 would be a home match for Canada is my guess )

Where might a June CNL home match ( or matches ) be played?

Stade Saputo
No events scheduled in early June
https://www.cfmontreal.com/schedule/

BMO Field
Argos play in Toronto June 3rd and June 16th but there are no TFC matches
https://www.cfl.ca/schedule/2022/
https://www.torontofc.ca/schedule/

BC Place
The Whitecaps play at home June 4th. BC Lions play at home June 3rd and June 11th
https://www.whitecapsfc.com/schedule/

Commonwealth Stadium
The Elks play at home June 3rd and June 18th

TD Place
Atletico play at home June 5th and June 14.
Redblacks play at home May 27th June 17th

IG Field
The Blue Bombers play at home May 27th and June 10th. Valour play at home June 1st, June 5th and June 15th
https://canpl.ca/schedule

Tim Hortons Field
Forge play at home June 12th
The TigerCats play at home May 28th and June 18th
but I cannot see a world where we go back to Hamilton so soon.

It's purely speculation but Montreal stands out for me as the front runner for hosting a match if the March WCQ match is in Toronto. Other CPL stadiums are likely too small for official CONCACAF competitive match standards ( ex: Victoria or Halifax )

Edited March 31, 2022 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[Strait Red]

There is an error in your pot 1 teams (Mexico twice)

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

10 minutes ago, Strait Red said:

There is an error in your pot 1 teams (Mexico twice)

Whoops! Thanks. Fixed. That second "Mexico" should have been Canada.

[Lurker]

I'm not giving up hope on Halifax.  I'll head down to the Wanderers Grounds tomorrow and start setting up some extra lawn chairs.

[narduch]

So basically we have 4 dates we can play World Cup warm up games

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

1 hour ago, Lurker said:

I'm not giving up hope on Halifax.  I'll head down to the Wanderers Grounds tomorrow and start setting up some extra lawn chairs.

I think CONCACAF have specific requirements for media, size of the changerooms and other stadium facilities. I'm not sure but I think the best we can hope for in Halifax is a friendly match.

 

57 minutes ago, narduch said:

So basically we have 4 dates we can play World Cup warm up games

Yes and no.

June 2022 Matchday 3   ~ Friday, June 10th
June 2022 Matchday 4   ~ Tuesday, June 14th

The September window (max two matches).

The release of players for Qatar is November 14th. Our first match would be November 21/22/23/24.

If we are one of the latest starters, and play our opening match on November 24th, then we have plenty of time for a pre-WC friendly, even a home one. If we play November 21st, it's likely a friendly in Europe or the Middle East.

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/11c3473bd955b473/original/zh9sqqpotyf6jhqpv2uw-pdf.pdf 

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/15b0e15fd2271292/original/FIFA-International-Match-Calendar-2020-2024.pdf

So there could be up to 5 friendlies during times where the players have been released; I'm not sure the CSA will use them all.

I think the CSA will market the June CNL game like a sendoff match and we will play one weekend friendly between June matchdays 3 and 4 in another city. ( This is just my guess )

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[JamboAl]

33 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

I think CONCACAF have specific requirements for media, size of the changerooms and other stadium facilities. I'm not sure but I think the best we can hope for in Halifax is a friendly match.

 

Yes and no.

June 2022 Matchday 3   ~ Friday, June 10th
June 2022 Matchday 4   ~ Tuesday, June 14th

The September window (max two matches).

The release of players for Qatar is November 14th. Our first match would be November 21/22/23/24.

If we are one of the latest starters, and play our opening match on November 24th, then we have plenty of time for a pre-WC friendly, even a home one. If we play November 21st, it's likely a friendly in Europe or the Middle East.

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/11c3473bd955b473/original/zh9sqqpotyf6jhqpv2uw-pdf.pdf 

https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/15b0e15fd2271292/original/FIFA-International-Match-Calendar-2020-2024.pdf

So there could be up to 5 friendlies during times where the players have been released; I'm not sure the CSA will use them all.

I think the CSA will market the June CNL game like a sendoff match and we will play one weekend friendly between June matchdays 3 and 4 in another city. ( This is just my guess )

 

Would not make any sense to have a friendly in Canada on Nov pre-WC.  It would require the European players to fly this way and then endure a much longer flight heading back east.  Also the weather conditions would be significantly different here than in Qatar.  If there were to be one, it should be in Europe, North Africa or in the Middle East.

[Shway]

Did a random draw from this generator here.

[Raven]

Victoria/Langford is owed a MNT game due to T&T game being cancelled. 

[Cblake]

6 minutes ago, Raven said:

Victoria/Langford is owed a MNT game due to T&T game being cancelled. 

There time will come post World Cup. Canada in my eyes has just become too big for some of those CPL stadiums like Halifax and Victoria. I think between now and November just abut any game played on home soil will sellout and as such the CSA will pick stadiums accordingly. I do wonder if the prospect of a big friendly is there in June, one was to do it would be the NL game in Montreal and the other in Toronto. For the friendly they would put a temporary stand in the end zone if they thought it made economic sense. 

[Raven]

I was thinking against a small island nation. 🙃

[trc2014]

39 minutes ago, Shway said:

Did a random draw from this generator here.

Would group 3 be the group of death?  I imagine it depends on how the Suriname team looks.

[Shway]

24 minutes ago, Cblake said:

. For the friendly they would put a temporary stand in the end zone if they thought it made economic sense. 

Not to long ago we were begging for more friendlies, more youth camps, more budget…..playing in small stadiums minimizes the potential revenue for a hot ticket team.

I only want to see the games in 20k stadiums just for the sole purpose of generating more revenue so that we can have money to allocate to things  like youth development and don’t operate like a cash strapped Caribbean nation.

 Leave those westhill stadium sizes for B camps, or even youth friendlies. 

[Cblake]

5 minutes ago, Shway said:

Not to long ago we were begging for more friendlies, more youth camps, more budget…..playing in small stadiums minimizes the potential revenue for a hot ticket team.

I only want to see the games in 20k stadiums just for the sole purpose of generating more revenue so that we can have money to allocate to things  like youth development and don’t operate like a cash strapped Caribbean nation.

 Leave those westhill stadium sizes for B camps, or even youth friendlies. 

They have to have the thing, go "Big" mentality. For a friendly against one of the big boys you can pack BMO, BC Place etc, plus more money can be made in hospitality etc.. The small size stuff does not make any sense at this point anyways. 

[ardsa]

4 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

What is the format?
Simply put, it's the same format as last time. Groups of three teams for League A. Home and Away matches.
Team A vs Team B
Team B vs Team A
Team A vs Team C
Team C vs Team A
Team B vs Team C
Team C vs Team A

Small correction needed here as well. You have Team C vs Team A twice.

Last time the USA (A), Canada (B), Cuba (C) group the order was different.
B vs C
C vs B
A vs C
B vs A
A vs B
C vs A

This time with the WC Playoff happening during match 3 and 4 the order will need to change with Team B and Team C playing back to back on those days. I didn't see anything in the release showing the specific match yet order yet.
From you stadium listings it looks like June 7 is clear in all stadiums. Maybe we get that as a home day and can play anywhere CSA wishes.
 

[Neil R.]

I think we've collectively reached our limit with non-FIFA teams. Hopefully Martinique gets one of the three other groups.

[TGAA_Star]

Nations League looks good. Imagine if Canada we win Nations League on top of already qualifying for Qatar.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

15 hours ago, trc2014 said:

Would group 3 be the group of death?  I imagine it depends on how the Suriname team looks.

I think a group of death for us would be to be put with Costa Rica or Panama and also Suriname or Curaçao. But there are no easy teams in Pot 2.

The group of life is any group that includes Grenada. Better than Martinique because we want more FIFA points.

13 hours ago, ardsa said:

Small correction needed here as well. You have Team C vs Team A twice.

Another typo. Now fixed, thanks.

 

13 hours ago, ardsa said:

From you stadium listings it looks like June 7 is clear in all stadiums. Maybe we get that as a home day and can play anywhere CSA wishes.

Yup. The match could be anywhere, but I still believe Montréal is the slight frontrunner if we play in Toronto in March. The last #CanMNT match there was the Curaçao friendly 5 years previously. The match where Davies made his debut! Only 6000 people were there 😭, if I recall correctly. They could fill the house this time!

No need to play around with cold weather in March 2023 ( Vancouver hosts ).

Edited February 7, 2022 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[footballfreak]

From a WC preparatory standpoint, we probably want the most difficult group possible. Up for debate, but I’d be happy with whichever of Costa Rica/Panama misses pot 1 and Suriname/Curaçao. I don’t think games with Grenada accomplish anything for us, even if used for bubble player evaluation.

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

6 minutes ago, Metro said:

 I'm guessing the CSA is aware of the day CONCACAF will schedule the match, which most likely will not take place in southern Ontario.

That was my theory for the scheduling of the 2020 V's Cup match.

With BMO Field booked on June 3rd for the CFL, I feel this makes my original theory even more likely:

On 2/6/2022 at 7:17 PM, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

...but Montreal stands out for me as the front runner for hosting...

#CanMNT in Montreal in early June?

[Cblake]

36 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

That was my theory for the scheduling of the 2020 V's Cup match.

With BMO Field booked on June 3rd for the CFL, I feel this makes my original theory even more likely:

#CanMNT in Montreal in early June?

There is no guarantee the June 3rd Argos pre-season home game is played at BMO. Over the last few years it has been played at both Varsity Stadium and at the University of Guelph. Also I have to think since both Nation's League and the V Cup Final are CSA events a number of their peps will want to be at both. Also some of the game prep would take place that the CSA overseas. I kind of wonder Hamilton for both, would let the CSA set up the stadium for two matches. But Montreal does make sense too. Also how much consideration would have to take place based on the opponent I wonder?

[ADP10]

It would be nice to spread the games across the country while we are doing well. Its a great opportunity to get Montreal back into the mix. 

[Shway]

1 hour ago, ADP10 said:

It would be nice to spread the games across the country while we are doing well.

Yea at our biggest stadiums so that that we can maximize profits, and presence. 

When the pitch gets changed, Canada at Olympic stadium will be massive. Playing at Saputo stadium right now will feel like we are still operating at 50% capacity with the maximum of 19k fans. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

Herdman specifically said that once qualifying had ended, friendlies and other matches could be used to share the NT around and let fans see us play. 

That sounds right. 

I personally would prefer to see slightly weaker NL opponents, so we can coast a bit and try some things. We'll need a break and we might even benefit from letting a few guys have one entirely, take a look at some other players.

Then in September, look for some more serious rivals outside the region, and one or two in the weeks leading up to the WC itself.

 

[Shway]

29 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Herdman specifically said that once qualifying had ended, friendlies and other matches could be used to share the NT around and let fans see us play. 

That sounds right. 

I personally would prefer to see slightly weaker NL opponents, so we can coast a bit and try some things. We'll need a break and we might even benefit from letting a few guys have one entirely, take a look at some other players.

Then in September, look for some more serious rivals outside the region, and one or two in the weeks leading up to the WC itself.

 

This is the way to go….but I don’t think this means we will see games at HFX grounds or even a return to Starlight. 

The Canada Red+White+Black+Gold indicates to me that the CSA is shifting their thinking as it pertains to revenue.