US’s Possible Matchups in November
In November the United States as well as Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada will enter the Nations League play with major implications. These four nations received a bye in the Nations League based on the constant dominance in CONCACAF play. The major implications in these games are the chance of making it to the Copa America in 2024, where there would be eight teams playing for six spots in the oldest national team tournament in the world. So without any more fanfare here are the possible teams that the USMNT will play in the second Berhalter era.
Trinidad and Tobago
The Soca Warriors are currently in first place of Group A but will play arguably one of the toughest tests at home when they play Guatemala and then travel to Curaçao. They are only two points ahead of both Panama and Guatemala and they have always been keen when playing in the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain or in Couva of beating the US like what we saw for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Panama
The Canaleros, the team that placed second in the latest Gold Cup are growing. The team right now is in second place tied in points with Guatemala but has a better goal differential will play Curaçao in Curaçao and then will play Guatemala in the Rommel Fernandez to see who will be first second or third in the group. Moreover, Panama is a squad where a vast majority play outside of Panamanian borders and some play in the top five leagues of Europe to add to the squad’s strength.
Guatemala
The third and final possible opponent of the US in Group A, the Chapines, are having a resurgence in their national team as Luis Fernando Tena has increased the level of play of the team to have about two points per game and has reached the second round of the latest Gold Cup. They have the toughest last two games as they will travel to Port of Spain to play Trinidad and then will travel to Panama City for a rematch to close out the group stage of the first round.
The most likely opponent will come from Group A as in the CONCACAF Rankings, Mexico is above the US and it is structured in a way for Mexico to have the easiest opponent, then the US, then Canada and then finally Costa Rica. From Group B, it is not that likely as the points are lower between the three teams involved.
Jamaica
The Reggae Boyz lead the group and will most likely win it as they’ll play Grenada in Grenada and most likely win it as Cuba and Honduras will play each other in a weird scheduling error as they would basically play a home and away series. If they don’t clinch the group then they’ll have another chance when they’ll play Haiti in most likely Santo Domingo or in Nassau.
Honduras
The Catrachos will play Cuba in a home and away series in which they will not play in Cuba at all. The first game will be played in Santo Domingo and the last game will be in Tegucigalpa. Based on the location I’ll guess that Honduras has a 65% chance of making the quarterfinals as a second placed team because of the distance traveled for Cuba. For winning the group it’s less than 30% because of Jamaica’s schedule.
Cuba
The Caribbean Lions have the second-worst schedule as they’ll play Honduras twice and not once in Havana or Santiago of Cuba. If I were a betting man I’ll wager that they have a 20% chance for making it as a second place team and less than 5% for winning the group.
Haiti
Les Grenadiers have the toughest schedule as they will play Suriname in Suriname and then Jamaica in Santo Domingo. The team will not play in Haiti itself due to the political upheaval going on in the country. I’ll say that their chances are 5% of making the quarterfinals and if they were to make it then it’ll be against Mexico.