The qualification process for the inaugural Concacaf Nations League is finished, with the group stage of the competition set to begin later this year.
A total of 41 teams will participate in the brand new venture and the make-up of the first edition is now known, with the final fixtures drawn on Wednesday.
Following in the footsteps of the introduction of their European counterpart in the UEFA Nations League, the Concacaf Nations League is a similar tournament – though still something that fans will want to understand clearly before the tournament proper kicks off.
Goal takes a look the Concacaf Nations League, how it works and brings you all the fixtures and results.
What is the Concacaf Nations League?
Much like the European counterpart, the Concacaf Nations League was introduced to bring organisation for international fixtures for North and Central America's national teams.
Concacaf President Victor Montagliani revealed that the purpose of the competition was to provide a regular schedule for the national teams, what with some teams having to play less than 10 games in a four-year period and thus needing more competitive matches to help further their development.
The Concacaf Nations League has just begun the qualification process which is to end in March 2019, with the group phase to be held later that year from September to November and the finals to be played in March of 2020.
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Qualifying phase | September 6-11 2018, October 11-16 2018, November 16-20 2018, March 21-26 2019 |
| Group phase | September 2-10 2019, October 7-15 2019, November 11-19 2019 |
| Finals | March 23-31 2020 |
How does the Concacaf Nations League work?
In similar fashion to the UEFA Nations League, the Concacaf Nations League format is a bit odd.
The Concacaf Nations League started with a one-off qualifying phase that was played across four matchdays starting from September 2018 to March 2019 to determine the allocation of teams for the group phase of the tournament.
The six Concacaf nations that participated in the final qualification stage for the 2018 World Cup have qualified automatically (Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Trinidad & Tobago) and the remaining 34 teams have entered the qualifying phase.
The teams were then be sorted into different tiers for the group stage of the Nations League, with the top 10 teams in the qualifying phase receiving automatic qualification to the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup.
The Concacaf Nations League group phase (consisting of three-tiered leagues) will be played in FIFA international fixture windows throughout September, October and November 2019. Teams will be sorted by form into Leagues A, B and C.
Each league will be separated into four groups where promotion and relegation will be observed, and the teams will compete in a home-and-away, round-robin format over the group phase.
Concacaf Nations League A tables, fixtures & results
League A contains 12 teams, with the six hexagonal participants joined by the top six teams from the qualification phase. The league is split into four groups of three teams and the four group winners will qualify for the Nations League final championship that will be played in March 2020 to determine the champion of the new competition.
The four teams to have placed last in each group will be relegated to League B for the next edition of the tournament.
The first group stage matches will be played in September 2019.
Group A
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 6 | Qualification to final championship |
| 2 | USA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | Cuba | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -7 | 0 | Relegation to League B |
Group B
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 3 | Qualification to final championship |
| 2 | Bermuda | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0 | 0 | Relegation to League B |
Group C
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Martinique | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | Qualification to final championship |
| 2 | Trinidad & Tobago | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 3 | Honduras | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League B |
Group D
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curacao | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Qualification to final championship |
| 2 | Haiti | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Costa Rica | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to League B |
Concacaf Nations League B tables, fixtures & results
League B contains the next 16 teams from the qualifying phase who finished in seventh to 22nd place. The league will consist of four groups of four teams, and the four group winners will be promoted to League A, while the four last-placed teams will be demoted to League C for the next edition.
Group A
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French Guiana | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +4 | 6 | Promotion to League A |
| 2 | Grenada | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | |
| 4 | Belize | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 1 | Relegation to League C |
Group B
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montserrat | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | Promotion to League A |
| 2 | El Salvador | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +2 | 3 | |
| 3 | Dominican Republic | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Saint Lucia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 1 | Relegation to League C |
Group C
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jamaica | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +10 | 6 | Promotion to League A |
| 2 | Guyana | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 3 | |
| 3 | Antigua and Barbuda | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 3 | |
| 4 | Aruba | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | Relegation to League C |
Group D
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suriname | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 6 | Promotion to League A |
| 2 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Nicaragua | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -6 | 1 | |
| 4 | Dominica | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 0 | Relegation to League C |
Concacaf Nations League C tables, fixtures & results
League C contains the remaining member associations, with the teams who finished 23rd to 34th in qualifying.
Group A
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cayman Islands | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +3 | 6 | Promotion to League B |
| 2 | Barbados | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +3 | 3 | |
| 3 | U.S. Virgin Islands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Saint Martin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 0 |
Group B
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bonaire | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 3 | Promotion to League B |
| 2 | Bahamas | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | British Virgin Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
Group C
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guatemala | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +15 | 6 | Promotion to League B |
| 2 | Puerto Rico | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -5 | 0 | |
| 3 | Anguilla | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -10 | 0 |
Group D
| Pos | Team | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guadeloupe | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +7 | 6 | Promotion to League B |
| 2 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -3 | 0 | |
| 3 | Sint Maarten | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -4 | 0 |
Concacaf Nations League finals
As mentioned, when matchday six has concluded, the Nations League then moves into the finals stage, which takes place in March of 2020.
Four teams - the winners of Groups 1-4 in League A - compete in two semi-finals.
This section of the tournament will be held in a single country, but the host nation has not yet been chosen.
Semi-finals
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| March 2020 | Group 1/2/3/4 winners vs Group 1/2/3/4 winners | TBC |
| March 2020 | Group 1/2/3/4 winners vs Group 1/2/3/4 winners | TBC |
Third-place play-off
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| March 2020 | Semi-final 1 losers vs Semi-final 2 losers | TBC |
Final
| Date | Match | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| March 2020 | Semi-final 1 winners vs Semi-final 2 winners | TBC |
USMNT & Mexico qualifying
The United States national team and Mexico have already qualified automatically for the Concacaf Nations League due to their participation in the World Cup qualification stages.
The USMNT didn't actually end up qualifying for the 2018 World Cup – neither did Trinidad & Tobago – but their failure to do so does not impact the automatic qualification.