MIAMI, Florida – The group stage of League A of the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League came to a thrilling conclusion on Tuesday night, with Panama and Trinidad and Tobago emerging as the top two sides in Group A to qualify for next month’s quarterfinals.
Panama win the group with 10 points, followed shortly behind in second place by Trinidad and Tobago with nine points.
Curacao earned their first win of the group stage in impressive fashion with a 5-3 triumph over Trinidad and Tobago at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao.
It was an ideal start for Curacao, who took a 1-0 lead in the 7’ when a long ball was played up to Rangelo Janga and the experienced striker finished with aplomb past Trinidad and Tobago GK Denzil Smith.
Curacao were hungry for more and they doubled the lead to 2-0 in the 12’ when Kenji Gorre found Godfried Roemeratoe, who fired into net past Smith.
The Curacao attack was unyielding and a hard run from Gorre in the 54’ ended in a foul in the Trinidad and Tobago area and a penalty kick. Gorre stepped up and easily converted from the spot, extending the Curacao advantage to 3-0.
Trinidad and Tobago were finally able to pull back a goal in the 68’ as Ryan Telfer found Reon Moore with a cross from the right wing and Moore finished to make it 3-1.
It was Trinidad and Tobago with the momentum now and suddenly it was 3-2 in the 74’ when a rebound fell for Kristian Lee-Him to latch onto and fire into goal.
Curacao had a golden opportunity to restore a two-goal advantage from the penalty spot in the 75’ after a Trinidad and Tobago handball, only to see Smith save Brandley Kuwas’ penalty. But three minutes later it was 4-2 via the penalty spot after a foul in the area. This time Juninho Bacuna stroked it into net for Curacao.
Curacao’s three-goal lead was then restored in the 81’ when Roshon Van Eijma’s header hit the crossbar, but Janga was there to head in the rebound to make it 5-2.
Their chances at winning the group were fading away, but Trinidad and Tobago wanted to make sure they held onto the second spot, and they made it a 5-3 final scoreline in the 86’ when a free kick was played in front of the Curacao goal and Kareem Moses poked home the loose ball.
Teams
Trinidad and Tobago (4-2-3-1): 22.Denzil Smith; 16.Alvin Jones, 2.Aubrey David (capt), 17.Justin Garcia, 3.Ross Russell Jr (12.Kareem Moses 46); 15.Neveal Hackshaw (8.Noah Powder 87), 14.Michel-Poon-Angeron (23.Kristian Lee Him 46); 7.Ryan Telfer (11.Real Gill 71), 18.Andre Rampersad, 20.Kaïlé Auvray (6.Andre Raymond 46); 13.Reon Moore.
Unused substitutes: 1.Christopher Biggette (GK), 21.Jabari St Hillaire (GK), 4.Jesse Williams, 5.Kevon Goddard, 9.Nathaniel James, 10.Duane Muckette, 19.Tyrone Charles.
Coach: Angus Eve
Yellow Cards
André Raymond
Kristian Lee-Him
Curaçao (4-1-4-1): 23.Trevor Doornbusch; 4.Roshon van Eijma, 3.Juriën Gaari, 6.Vurnon Anita, 12.Justin Ogenia, 15.Nathangelo Markelo, 7.Juninho Bacuna (20.Kevin Felida 83), 8.Godfried Roemeratoe, 14.Kenji Gorré (13.Joshua Zimmerman 68), 17.Brandley Kuwas (18.Elson Hooi 83), 9.Rangelo Janga).
Yellow Cards
Vurnon Anita
Concacaf Nations League Result
(Tue 17 October)
Curaçao 5 (Rangelo Janga 7, 81, Godfried Roemeratoe 12, Kenji Gorre 56 pen, Juninho Bacuna 78 pen), Trinidad and Tobago 3 (Reon Moore 68, Kristian Lee-Him 74, Kareem Moses 86) at Willemstad.
GAME STATS
CUR - TRI
51.4% Possession 48.6%
5 Shots on Goal 4
24 Shot Attempts 17
19 Fouls 12
5 Corner Kicks 6
1 Saves 5
Concacaf Nations League Final Standings
TEAM GP W D L GD P
Panama 4 3 1 0 +7 10
Trinidad and Tobago 4 3 0 1 +1 9
Martinique 4 2 1 1 -1 7
Guatemala 4 1 1 2 -2 4
Curacao 4 1 0 3 -1 3
El Salvador 4 0 1 3 -4 1
WATCH Highlights | Curaçao vs Trinidad & Tobago | 2023/24 Concacaf Nations League
WATCH Eve's Comments as T&T secure Nations League Quarter Final qualification - T&T 3 x Curacao 5
T&T to face USA in Nation League Quarter Finals.
TTFA Media
Trinidad and Tobago will face the United States in the quarter finals of the Concacaf Nations League in November. T&T will face the US in the opening leg of the home and away tie in Austin, Texas on November 16th before playing at home at a venue to be announced in Trinidad on November 20th.
The winner advances to the semi finals of the Nations League as well as the 2024 Copa America while the losers of the tie will have a second opportunity at Copa America qualification in the playoff against another quarter-final loser in March, 2024.
The schedule for the Quarterfinals is as follows, with the home team for each match listed first (per the competition regulations, the four pre-seeded federations, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States, themselves had the opportunity to decide whether they would play first at home or away.):
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
After home-and-away play, the aggregate score winner in each pairing will advance to both the 23/24 Concacaf Nations League Finals and the CONMEBOL Copa America USA 2024. The four losing Quarterfinalists will still have an opportunity to qualify for next summer’s Copa America via a single-match direct elimination Play-In, where they will play for the two remaining slots for Concacaf nations. This Play-In will also take place in March 2024.
23/24 Concacaf Nations League Finals
The Concacaf Nations League Finals’ third edition is scheduled to take place in March 2024. The final four, between League A’s Quarterfinal winners, includes semifinals, to be played on Thursday, March 21, 2024, followed by a Third Place Match and Final on Sunday, March 24.
To determine the semifinal pairings, the four participating nations will be ranked 1-4, according to their performance in the Quarterfinals (points, and if required, goal difference), with the highest-ranked team facing the lowest-ranked team (1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3).
More details on the 23/24 Concacaf Nations League Finals and the Concacaf Copa America Play-In will be announced in due course.