The U.S. men’s national team will defend its Concacaf Nations League title starting this June after Concacaf announced the details for the second edition of the federation tournament.
Concacaf announced that the 2022-23 Nations League will begin in June 2022 and conclude in March 2023. 41 national teams will take part and the tournament draw will take place on April 4 in Miami, Florida.
“The first edition of the Concacaf Nations League was a huge success, and this competition has already transformed men’s national team football in our region,” said Concacaf President and FIFA Vice President Victor Montagliani. “Where previously teams had limited opportunities to play and compete, the Nations League provides a consistent set of official matches for every Member Association in Concacaf. Players can look forward to regional rivalries, coaches can test themselves against the best in Concacaf and fans in all 41 nations can follow their teams with pride.”
The Nations League group stage will continue to be played in a three-League format (League A, B, and C) with home-and-away round robin play taking place in June 2022 and March 2023. There will be three pots for League A, four pots for League B, and three pots for League C, with the USMNT taking part in League A, along with Mexico, Canada, and several others.
The three highest-ranked teams and Concacaf’s representative in the FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Playoff will be place in Pot 1. The next four ranked teams will be in Pot 2 and the lowest four ranked teams will be in Pot 3.
The Nations League semifinals, third place match, and final will be played in a centralized location in June 2023. To determine the semifinal matchups between the four League A group winners, teams will be ranked 1-4 based on their group stage results with the highest ranked team facing the lowest ranked team (1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3).
Group stage results will also serve as qualification into the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, as it did for the 2021 edition.
Gregg Berhalter’s side defeated rivals Mexico 3-2 in extra time in June 2021 in the Final of the inaugural Nations League. It was the first of two trophies for the USMNT last summer as Berhalter’s squad also edged Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup Final in August.
Here is a closer look at the leagues and teams:
League A (12 teams): Canada, Costa Rica, Curaçao, El Salvador (promoted from League B), Grenada (promoted from League B), Honduras, Jamaica (promoted from League B), Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Suriname (promoted from League B) and United States.
League B (16 teams): Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas (promoted from League C), Barbados (promoted from League C), Belize, Bermuda (relegated from League A), Cuba (relegated from League A), Dominican Republic, French Guiana, Guadeloupe (promoted from League C), Guatemala (promoted from League C), Guyana, Haiti (relegated from League A), Montserrat, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago (relegated from League A).
League C (13 teams): Anguilla, Aruba (relegated from League B), Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica (relegated from League B), Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis (relegated from League B), Saint Lucia (relegated from League B), Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands.