Nicaragua
CONCACAF Region: Central America
“La Azul y Blanco” needs to win the Nations League if they hope to keep pace with regional rivals Costa Rica, Panama, and Honduras. Central American Games medals aside; Nicaragua’s best finishes came at the CCCF Championship (third place in 1951), and at the Copa Centroamericana (three fifth place finishes with the most recent being in 2017). Momentum is not on their side at the moment as they’ve lost six of their last nine matches. But midfielder Juan Barrera (54 caps, 18 goals), defender Manuel Rosas (47 caps, 2 goals), and forward Jaime Moreno (11 caps, 4 goals) are ready to try and turn this team around and that starts against Dominica on October 11th.
Why They Will Win: Everyone loves an underdog.
Why They Won’t: Lack of international success
Mexico
CONCACAF Region: North America
“El Tri” will send a strong mixture of both youth and experience into Nations League competition. They are the favorites to win this tournament and they would love nothing more than to add to their illustrious trophy case. Being placed in Group B of League A means they’ll get some stiff competition from Panama (12-2-5 all-time record), but a loss against Bermuda would be that major upset that I speak of (5-0-1 all-time record, plays them on October 11th). Striker Jesus Corona (42 caps, 7 goals) is a handful for any opposing defense. But Corona will be accompanied by defender Nestor Araujo (35 caps, 3 goals), midfielder Hector Herrera (72 caps, 5 goals), and forward Hirving Lozano (37 caps, 9 goals).
Why They Will Win: They are the kings of CONCACAF, their eight Gold Cup titles are the most in history.
Why They Won’t: Seeing as they are at the top of the mountain, everyone is hoping to pull off the major upset against them. Especially Team USA.
Panama
CONCACAF Region: Central America
If Costa Rica is Central America’s best team than Panama isn’t too far behind. Just like Costa Rica, Panama is making waves on the international stage. Since 2005 “Los Canaleros” played in eight consecutive Gold Cups, participated in every Copa Centroamericana since 1991, they were invited to the 2016 Copa America, and qualified for their first FIFA World Cup in 2018.
The biggest challenge for Gabriel Torres (85 caps, 18 goals) and company within Group B of League A will be 2019 Gold Cup Champion Mexico. Panama is 2-12-5 lifetime against “El Tri”, and they haven’t defeated Mexico since posting back-to-back wins against them in 2013 (0-5-1 against them since then). Also in that group is Bermuda who’s only defeated Panama once (2-1-1 all-time record against Bermuda). Panama resumes their run in this tournament on October 15th against the Mexican team.
Why They Will Win: Panama has established themselves as contenders who are ready for their breakout moment. They’ve reached the quarterfinals or higher in every Gold Cup since 2005 (finished as the runner up in both 2005 and 2013), and have finished third or higher in every Copa Centroamericana since 2007.
Why They Won’t: Getting past Mexico will be easier said than done.
Puerto Rico
CONCACAF Region: Caribbean
Puerto Rico is more known for their baseball and basketball. But qualifying the for the Nations League is an accomplishment in itself. Aside from some international friendlies through the years, “El Huracan Azul” is playing in their first international event since the 1993 Caribbean Cup. All of their current players are too young to remember that year (average age is 23-years-old), but they do have some talent to work with. Striker Ricardo Rivera (4 caps) and defender Joshua Calderon (4 caps) are the most experienced players on the current squad.
Puerto Rico has never lost to Anguilla (2-0), but they’ve never defeated Guatemala (0-2). Those are their opponents in Group C of League C. They’ll get back on the pitch against Anguilla on October 15th.
Why They Will Win: They have something to prove. Specifically, that the island can be a multi-sport region.
Why They Won’t: Sorely lacking in international competition.
United States
CONCACAF Region: North America
Team USA isn’t considered part of Latin America but Mexico is their arch-rivals, they have a strong stable of Latino players, and they’ve seen plenty of action against teams from Latin America through the years. Team USA’s last title came at the 2017 Gold Cup, so they’re looking to add to their trophy case. They’ve been through some coaching changes, roster changes, and they hope to reclaim their status atop the CONCACAF mountain. Of course everything Team USA does is to build momentum for the 2022 World Cup, they missed out on Russia in 2018.
Why They Will Win: They are the second best team in CONCACAF.
Why They Won’t: Can they finally defeat Mexico when it counts?