CONCACAF Nations League 2023/2024 - Group Stage & ¼finals - General Thread

[Atlantic]

I'm looking at Suriname's roster this window and can't help but feel they missed out on really overhauling their program. They've called up a decent chunk of local players, guys playing at weird levels (Latvia/Cyprus), and then guys who are old and unattached. 

[VinceA]

9 minutes ago, Atlantic said:

I'm looking at Suriname's roster this window and can't help but feel they missed out on really overhauling their program. They've called up a decent chunk of local players, guys playing at weird levels (Latvia/Cyprus), and then guys who are old and unattached. 

Their recruitment has taken a nosedive. It's telling they haven't been able to get Riedewald or others of a similar caliber to commit.

Like Curacao their federations is poorly run and the initial goodwill of dual-nats returning to their roots is long passed.

[narduch]

One Soccer is showing Guatemala v Panama followed by El Salvador v T+T tonight. 

Starting at 8pm ET

Edited September 10, 2023 by narduch

[JamboAl]

14 hours ago, VinceA said:

Their recruitment has taken a nosedive. It's telling they haven't been able to get Riedewald or others of a similar caliber to commit.

Like Curacao their federations is poorly run and the initial goodwill of dual-nats returning to their roots is long passed.

People don’t appreciate how few resources these countries have.  I helped with the away ticketing for the Nations League match in Curacao in March and had to deal with the FFK (their FA).  They run on a skeleton staff making probably no more than a Canadian minimum wage in a place that ain’t that cheap.  The also have to bring in people on short term contracts when games are on.  If I were to guess, their budget is probably a tenth of the CSA’s, if that.  They may be poorly run, but they barely have enough to cobble together a school bus to get the players from the stadium to their accommodations.  And yes,  the Curacao national team arrived and left the stadium in a school bus.

[Approve My Account Pls]

16 hours ago, VinceA said:

Their recruitment has taken a nosedive. It's telling they haven't been able to get Riedewald or others of a similar caliber to commit.

Like Curacao their federations is poorly run and the initial goodwill of dual-nats returning to their roots is long passed.

I feel we'll see an uptick in the dual-nats turning up as we get closer to 2026. It's the allure of the World Cup that brings them in, not the Nations League, and I think the expansion to 48 teams makes it far more appealing

[xabuep2]

3 hours ago, narduch said:

One Soccer is showing Guatemala v Panama followed by El Salvador v T+T tonight. 

Starting at 8pm ET

I still find the Swiss system confusing. Trinidad Tobago could theoretically win group A without having faced the favorite Panama. I also don't understand if there are 6 countries in the group, you practically play against 3, not even 4.

[Metro]

40 minutes ago, xabuep2 said:

I still find the Swiss system confusing. Trinidad Tobago could theoretically win group A without having faced the favorite Panama. I also don't understand if there are 6 countries in the group, you practically play against 3, not even 4.

As you later imply in your analysis, it’s not confusing, it’s dumb. 🙂

[narduch]

52 minutes ago, xabuep2 said:

I still find the Swiss system confusing. Trinidad Tobago could theoretically win group A without having faced the favorite Panama. I also don't understand if there are 6 countries in the group, you practically play against 3, not even 4.

It's basically a group stage without a balanced schedule. 

By the way next year's UEFA Champions League will use this type of system 

 

[Shway]

21 hours ago, xabuep2 said:

I still find the Swiss system confusing. Trinidad Tobago could theoretically win group A without having faced the favorite Panama. I also don't understand if there are 6 countries in the group, you practically play against 3, not even 4.

Based on this, it's possible Panama could be knocked out.

One thing for sure is the top two will be determined on the final match day.

 

[CanadaFan123]

It’s a ridiculous system. I understood the unbalanced schedule for WCQ 1st round out of necessity but this is just silly. 

[JamboAl]

7 minutes ago, CanadaFan123 said:

It’s a ridiculous system. I understood the unbalanced schedule for WCQ 1st round out of necessity but this is just silly. 

100% agree!  You have 12 teams and 4 need to qualify and you have 4 match days available.  Why couldn’t CONCACAF just make 4 groups of 3 and they play each other home and away (they do it in League B and C)? Or is the simplest solution the easiest to ignore?

[red card]

Chess No. 1 checkmates Euro snobs.

 

[narduch]

Hugo Perez is out as El Salvador manager

[Shway]

29 minutes ago, narduch said:

Hugo Perez is out as El Salvador manager

Yea because they are pretty much out of contention. 

[youllneverwalkalone]

6 hours ago, JamboAl said:

100% agree!  You have 12 teams and 4 need to qualify and you have 4 match days available.  Why couldn’t CONCACAF just make 4 groups of 3 and they play each other home and away (they do it in League B and C)? Or is the simplest solution the easiest to ignore?

Be that as it may, if the standings were final as of right now, wouldn't we play T&T in QF? Jack Vic doing good things for the home side.

 

Edit, sorry, wtf do we play the best group winner? Shouldn't that be Costa Rica or is Wiki wrong:

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by youllneverwalkalone

[blueseeka]

Yep...i have real clue either

We ended up 4th? Behind CR?

Edited September 11, 2023 by blueseeka

[Watchmen]

Did it get updated after CR beat Saudi Arabia on the weekend?

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

6 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

Did it get updated after CR beat Saudi Arabia on the weekend?

No.

The latest ones are from the last day of August:

https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/men-s-national-team/

The gap was 52 points. How much did the Saudi match give them?

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

2 hours ago, narduch said:

Hugo Perez is out as El Salvador manager

A bit of a shame. Seemed like a hard working and well intentioned coach who pushed to recruit dual nationals.

Sadly for him, the results just weren't there.

Maybe he is better suited to some kind of technical or developmental role.

[Obinna]

9 minutes ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

A bit of a shame. Seemed like a hard working and well intentioned coach who pushed to recruit dual nationals.

Sadly for him, the results just weren't there.

Maybe he is better suited to some kind of technical or developmental role.

He was highly spoken of during the qualifiers and El Salvador did better than most expected despite finishing near the bottom. They were a tough out for most teams in the Ocho.

They also seemed like a team on the rise in CA, the opposite of Honduras who are sinking. 

But it's true the results have not been there lately. They had a tough GC group which they failed to advance from and Guatemala sort of stole their thunder as the up-and-coming CONCACAF team.

I feel like they were better under Perez and maybe he should have been given more time, but that's international football for you. Results matter.

[mrstepp817]

21 hours ago, Obinna said:

He was highly spoken of during the qualifiers and El Salvador did better than most expected despite finishing near the bottom. They were a tough out for most teams in the Ocho.

They also seemed like a team on the rise in CA, the opposite of Honduras who are sinking. 

But it's true the results have not been there lately. They had a tough GC group which they failed to advance from and Guatemala sort of stole their thunder as the up-and-coming CONCACAF team.

I feel like they were better under Perez and maybe he should have been given more time, but that's international football for you. Results matter.

As a US/Canadian dual national myself who roots for both teams, the USMNT fan in me would have loved for the US to hire Perez over Gregggggg...loved how El Salvador played...I think Perez's style would be fascinating with a team with good talent 

[Olympique_de_Marseille]

Disaster for Suriname as they fall to Cuba.

I did not expect that.

On 9/11/2023 at 5:10 PM, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

The latest ones are from the last day of August:

https://www.concacaf.com/rankings/men-s-national-team/

The gap was 52 points. How much did the Saudi match give them?

I assume since Costa Rica won against Saudi Arabia but lost to the UAE that the gap will remain roughly the same.

Even if we lost to Japan, could Costa Rica close the ~50 point gap with two friendly wins in October?

Better minds than mind will need to answer that question.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Olympique_de_Marseille

[narduch]

Haiti currently besting Jamaica 2-0 in the 1st half.

It's on One Soccer 

[Alex]

2 hours ago, Olympique_de_Marseille said:

Disaster for Suriname as they fall to Cuba.

I did not expect that.

I assume since Costa Rica won against Saudi Arabia but lost to the UAE that the gap will remain roughly the same.

Even if we lost to Japan, could Costa Rica close the ~50 point gap with two friendly wins in October?

Better minds than mind will need to answer that question.

The Suriname roster is pretty bad this window. 

[El Diego]

On 9/11/2023 at 12:47 PM, red card said:

Chess No. 1 checkmates Euro snobs.

 

Here's a man very familiar with the Swiss system