Haiti and Curaçao have secured places in the 2026/27 Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals. Each will face one of the four pre-seeded teams — Mexico, the United States, Canada or Panama — but the opponent still depends on the Concacaf Ranking and a comparison of the qualifiers’ records in Groups A and B.
What Haiti and Curaçao secured
Confirmation came after the October 4 matchday. Curaçao drew 1-1 with Trinidad and Tobago: Luke Phillip scored first in the 39th minute, and Jordi Paulina equalized in the 61st. Haiti lost 2-0 to Costa Rica, with goals from Carlos Mora in the sixth minute and Andrey Soto in the 21st, but also secured a place in the next round.
The official Concacaf report records the two teams’ qualifications separately. Haiti’s result in San Juan de Tíbás therefore did not eliminate the team, while the draw in Port of Spain was enough to confirm Curaçao’s progression.
Why the opponent was not yet known
League A’s group stage brings together 12 teams, divided into two groups of six under a Swiss-style format. Each team plays four matches, two at home and two away. The qualifiers join four pre-seeded teams that enter directly in the quarterfinals.
On October 5, the Group B schedule still included Honduras vs. Jamaica, Guatemala vs. Suriname and Martinique vs. El Salvador. It was therefore not yet possible to complete the performance comparison between the qualifiers from both groups. Concacaf will also use its ranking after the September-October window to order the four seeded teams.
How the bracket works
According to Concacaf’s published format explanation, Mexico, the United States, Canada and Panama will be ranked first through fourth according to the confederation’s ranking. The group winners and runners-up will also be compared by their group-stage performance.
The fourth-ranked seed will face the best group winner, while the third-ranked seed meets the other winner. The second-ranked seed plays the best runner-up, and the top seed faces the other runner-up. Knowing that Haiti and Curaçao have advanced is therefore not enough to identify their opponents: their assigned positions and the updated order of the four pre-seeded teams are both required.
Quarterfinals will be played in November
The ties will be contested over two legs in November 2026. The aggregate winner of each series advances. The four survivors will reach the League A Finals, scheduled for March 2027 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Concacaf said the detailed November schedule would be announced later. Dates, kickoff times and venues should be checked on the official page before making plans.
Gold Cup and the play-in are different paths
The Nations League also serves as qualification for the 2027 Gold Cup, but the available sources do not explain in this update which specific Gold Cup berth accompanies Haiti’s or Curaçao’s quarterfinal qualification. The two achievements should therefore not be treated as interchangeable without the applicable full regulations.
The same update distinguishes the destinations: Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic earned places in the Gold Cup Prelims, while Trinidad and Tobago and Nicaragua were directed to the League A+C Play-In. Nations League quarterfinals, Gold Cup Prelims and the play-in are separate stages.
Discover Becoartes
For more stories about sports and culture, discover Becoartes at Rua Gonçalo Afonso, 99, Vila Madalena, São Paulo.
Discover Becoartes
Visit Becoartes at Rua Gonçalo Afonso, 99, Vila Madalena, São Paulo.
Becoartes - Beco do Batman
99 Gonçalo Afonso Street, Vila Madalena, São Paulo
Sources and credits
- Ana Nascimento/ABr — CC BY 3.0 br
- Ana Nascimento/ABr — CC BY 3.0 br
- Ana Nascimento/ABr — CC BY 3.0 br
- Ana Nascimento/ABr — CC BY 3.0 br
- Concacaf — Haiti and Curaçao advance to Nations League Quarterfinals
- Concacaf — calendário e formato da Liga das Nações 2026/27
- Wikimedia Commons — categoria da seleção do Haiti
- Wikimedia Commons — categoria da seleção de Curaçao