2019 Concacaf Nations League Draw

Concacaf Nations League Matchups To Watch, Featuring Mexico, U.S., & More

Concacaf Nations League Matchups To Watch, Featuring Mexico, U.S., & More

The Concacaf Nations League draw took place this week and produced a bevy of entertaining matchups, including Mexico vs. Panama and USA vs. Canada.

Apr 1, 2019 by Jon Arnold
Concacaf Nations League Matchups To Watch, Featuring Mexico, U.S., & More

The Concacaf Nations League draw took place this week and produced a bevy of entertaining matchups.

Fans have to wait until the fall to actually see the games on the field, but here are some of the contests in each league we can look forward enjoying to when the ball gets rolling in September.

League A

1. Mexico vs Panama | Group B

El Tri fans thought they would roll through the group stage of this competition when it was announced, but the draw was not kind to Mexico. Tata Martino’s squad ended up in the same group as Panama.

Although Mexico has defeated the Central Americans in four of the last five meetings, the games always have been hard-fought. The last dozen matches between the nations have been decided by a goal or less, and Panama is looking like it will be in good form after a March in which it held Brazil to a 1-1 draw as it hits reset on the generation that got it to its first-ever World Cup in 2018.

2. United States vs Canada | Group A

The U.S. missed out on World Cup qualification last time around but is being buoyed by an exciting new crop of young players who are commanding big fees in Europe after big-time success at the start of their professional careers. Turns out the current Canada squad fits that description, too, and the coming together of these North American countries should make for a thrilling series.

The U.S. boasts Christian Pulisic, who by the date of this match will be a Chelsea player, plus RB Leipzig midfielder (and right back?) Tyler Adams and Schalke midfielder Weston McKennie, but Canada can counter with Bayern Munich winger Alphonso Davies, Gent forward Jonathan David, and Albacete’s Ballou Tabla, on loan from Barcelona. The Reds’ depth still falls short of the Stars and Stripes, but after topping the Nations League qualification table, John Herdman’s squad will look to continue its push to be included among the region’s best.

League B

3. El Salvador vs Montserrat | Group B 

The rematch! Montserrat fell just short of qualifying for the Gold Cup after the island of 5,000 shocked just about everyone by winning three matches in qualification. The only contest the Emerald Boys lost was the very first game, a 2-1 reverse to El Salvador thanks to Oscar Ceren’s stoppage-time winner. 

Now Willie Donachie’s men have a chance to show the qualification run was no fluke and that they belong in League B—or above—while El Salvador can continue to fight for the League A place they think they should have historically. La Selecta won’t be looking forward to its return visit to Blakes Estate Stadium.

4. Jamaica vs Guyana | Group C

Both the Reggae Boyz and Golden Jaguars were able to land in the Gold Cup thanks to their quality on display during qualification, and this group is shaping up to be a real battle, with both Antigua and Barbuda and Aruba able to throw a wrench in the mix.

Still, established Caribbean power Jamaica with its Premier League veterans and bevy of players in MLS and the USL Championship should have the advantage, even if they’re set to be pushed by Guyana coach Michael Johnson’s mix of lower-division English players along with a few North America-based players and teams from local sides with awesome names like Fruta Conquerors and Uitvlugt Warriors.

League C

5. Guatemala vs Puerto Rico | Group C

Guatemala is rebuilding from a FIFA ban and, as such, wasn’t able to take part in Nations League qualification. Los Chapines rightly will feel like they should be higher up than this league and will be eager to show it and earn promotion from the bottom rung of the Nations League. March’s victory over a Costa Rica team anchored by Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas hints that things may now be on the right path even as the federation remains mired in controversy.

Puerto Rico, meanwhile, was a real disappointment in qualification. Any result in either leg against Guatemala would be a boost for a team that lost all four of its matches and ended the mini-competition as one of only two teams who didn’t register a single point. Hector Ramos and company will be eager to show they’re better than they appeared over those four matches. Upsetting Guatemala would do just that.

6. Guadeloupe vs Turks and Caicos | Group D

Memories of Guadeloupe’s Cinderella run in the 2007 Gold Cup seem so foggy now. That generation, which later got to the knockout stage of the 2009 edition and qualified for the 2011 edition by finishing as Caribbean Cup runners-up, is gone. The new crop of players have failed to produce the same spark as guys like Stéphane Auvray and Jocelyn Angloma. Guadeloupe had a tough draw in qualification but found only one victory.

Turks and Caicos were smashed in their first two games, but Billy Forbes returned to the team and helped secure a victory over Saint Vincent and the Grenadines before a disappointing draw with the British Virgin Islands that meant they’d land in the lowest League instead of League B. Both teams aspire for more, and with Sint Maarten still getting its program off the ground, this battle should decide who pops up to League B.


Jon Arnold is a journalist based in Texas who works as Goal's Concacaf correspondent and appears on the BBC World Football Phone-In. Follow him on Twitter.