USMNT
Why isn’t the USMNT playing in the CONCACAF Nations League?
The United States won the first three editions of the competition but won’t play in the latest one, which starts on Wednesday, until November.
The 2024/25 CONCACAF Nations League gets underway gets underway on Wednesday (September 4), but the USMNT, who have won all three previous editions, won’t feature in the tournament until November.
2024/25 CONCACAF Nations League format
There are 41 member associations within CONCACAF, but only 37 take part in the league phase, which takes place in September and October 2024.
Those 37 nations have been split into three Leagues (A, B and C) based on their performance in the most recent edition of the competition (2023/24). In theory, the strongest teams are in League A (made up of Groups A and B), the next best countries are in League B (Groups A, B, C and D), with the weakest nations in League C (Groups A, B and C).
The four top-ranked CONCACAF teams, however, aren’t involved in the first round. Instead, the USMNT (2nd), Mexico (1st), Canada (3rd) and Panama (4th) are given a bye to the quarterfinals, which will be played in November.
The USMNT’s schedule for September and October
As a result, the Stars and Stripes will play two friendly games in both September and October. This month, they face Canada at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City on Saturday, September 7 (kickoff at 4pm ET) before taking on New Zealand at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Tuesday, September 10 (kickoff at 7pm ET).
Next month, they will play against Panama at Q2 Stadium in Austin on Saturday, October 12 (kickoff at 9pm) and travel to Zaponan, near Guadalajara, to test themselves against Mexico on Tuesday, October 15 (kickoff at 10.30 pm ET).
Who could the USMNT play in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals?
The USMNT, Mexico, Canada and Panama will be joined in the quarterfinals by the top two teams from Groups A and B in League A.
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Jamaica, Honduras, and Trinidad and Tobago are among the contenders.
The US expect to officially confirm former Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach before too much longer and will hope to have him in place for when they enter the latest edition of the Nations League.