October 6 – With a 1-0 home win against Suriname, Guatemala jumped to the top of Group B in the Concacaf Nations League 1 on goal difference and qualified for the quarter-finals to be played in November.
Jamaica’s 1-1 draw at Honduras was enough to keep them in second place, level on points with Guatemala and Suriname, and with a 1-goal advantage over the Surinamese to send them into the quarter-finals.
Suriname and Honduras, who finished third and fourth, missed out on progression from the Nations League, but secured places in the preliminary qualifiers for the 2027 Gold Cup.
At the start of the day’s games, the six teams in Group B could still qualify for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, but with Martinique and El Salvador tied, their four points were not enough to keep them going. Honduras, which also finished with four points, entered the Gold Cup preliminary rounds on goal difference.
It was a dramatic night for the Guatemalans at the Estadio Manuel Felipe Carrera in Guatemala City. In added time, it looked like the goalless draw would be enough to see Suriname through, before Matthew Evans (pictured) hammered home a long-range shot for Guatemala in the 90+6′.
Guatemala will now face pre-seeded Canada in the quarterfinals.
At the Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Jamaica took the lead in the 27th minute with a shot from outside the box by Tyreece Campbell. Luis Palma equalized for Honduras in the 51st minute with another long shot, but Honduras couldn’t find the winner.
Jamaica will now face Mexico in the quarter-finals in November.
In the other quarter-finals, Group B winner Curacao will face Panama, while runner-up Haiti will face the USA.
The four quarter-final winners next month will qualify for the Nations League final four next March, as well as the 2027 Gold Cup.
The four quarterfinal losers will get a second chance at qualifying for the Gold Cup where they will join the third and fourth teams in the groups just played: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Suriname.
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