WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao will enter Thursday's Concacaf Nations League draw ranked 11th in the region, officially securing its place in the League A group stage as the Blue Wave prepares to learn its opponents.
Concacaf will use its July 20 rankings for the draw. Mexico tops the standings with 2,112 points, followed by the United States (1,833), Canada (1,799) and Panama (1,685). As the four highest-ranked League A teams, they automatically advance to the quarterfinals and will not participate in the group stage.
Curaçao is ranked 11th overall with 1,335 points. Among the 12 teams competing in the League A group stage, the island ranks seventh. The six teams ahead of Curaçao are Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti, Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago.
The remaining participants are Suriname, Martinique, Nicaragua, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.
The official seeding pots have not yet been announced, meaning it is still unclear which teams Curaçao may or may not face. Those details will be determined during Thursday's draw, scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. Curaçao time.
Under the tournament format, the 12 teams will be divided into two groups of six. The group stage will be played using a Swiss-style system, with each nation playing four matches—two at home and two away—rather than facing every team in its group.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will be joined by Mexico, the United States, Canada and Panama. Those knockout ties will be played over two legs in November, with the winners advancing to the Concacaf Nations League Finals, scheduled for March 2027 in Los Angeles.
Group-stage matches will take place between Sept. 21 and Oct. 6. Teams finishing fifth or sixth in their respective groups will be relegated to League B.
The Nations League also serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2027 Concacaf Gold Cup. Concacaf has not yet announced the qualification criteria, including which teams will earn automatic berths and which may need to compete in playoffs.
For Curaçao, Thursday's draw is therefore about more than remaining in the region's top division. The identity of its opponents could also play a crucial role in the Blue Wave's bid to qualify for another Gold Cup.