2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals
The 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals was the final tournament of the 2022–23 edition of the CONCACAF Nations League, the second season of the international football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The tournament was held from 15 to 18 June 2023 in the United States, and was contested by the four group winners of Nations League A.[1]
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country | United States |
| Dates | 15–18 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United States (2nd title) |
| Runners-up | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada |
| Third place |  Mexico |
| Fourth place |  Panama |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 8 (2 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Christian Pulisic (2 goals) |
The United States defeated Canada 2–0 in the final to secure a second consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title.[2]
Format
The Nations League Finals took place in June 2023 and was contested by the four group winners of League A. The tournament took place over four days and was played in single-leg knockout matches, consisting of two semi-finals on 15 June, and a third place play-off and final three days after the second semi-final on 18 June 2023.
In the Nations League Finals, if the scores were level at the end of normal time:[3]
- In the semi-finals and final, 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If the score was still level after extra time, the winner was determined by a penalty shoot-out.
- In the third place play-off, extra time would not be played, and the winner would be determined by a penalty shoot-out.
Qualified teams
The four group winners of League A qualified for the Nations League Finals.
| Group | Winners | Date of qualification |
CONCACAF Rankings May 2023 |
FIFA Rankings April 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Mexico |
March 26, 2023 | 1 | 15 |
| B | Panama |
March 28, 2023 | 5 | 58 |
| C | Canada |
March 28, 2023 | 4 | 47 |
| D | United States (host) |
March 27, 2023 | 2 | 13 |
Seeding
The four teams were ranked based on their results in the group stage to determine the semi-final matchups. The first seed played the fourth seed and the second seed played the third seed.[1]
| Seed | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | D | United States (H) |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 10 |
| 2 | B | Panama |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | +8 | 10 |
| 3 | C | Canada |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 9 |
| 4 | A | Mexico |
4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 3 | +5 | 8 |
Venue
Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas area, was confirmed as the venue for the tournament on March 20, 2023.[4][5]
| Paradise |
|---|
| Allegiant Stadium |
| Capacity: 61,000 |
 |
Squads
Each national team had to submit a squad of 23 players, three of whom had to be goalkeepers, at least ten days before the opening match of the tournament. If a player became injured or ill severely enough to prevent his participation from the tournament before his team's first match, he could be replaced by another player.[3]
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| June 15 – Paradise | ||||||
| Panama | 0 | |||||
| June 18 – Paradise | ||||||
| Canada | 2 | |||||
| Canada | 0 | |||||
| June 15 – Paradise | ||||||
| United States | 2 | |||||
| United States | 3 | |||||
| Mexico | 0 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| June 18 – Paradise | ||||||
| Panama | 0 | |||||
| Mexico | 1 | |||||
Semi-finals
Panama vs Canada
          Panama
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 Canada
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[7]
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United States vs Mexico
The match was temporarily stopped by the referee in the 90th minute due to homophobic chants from the Mexico fans. The referee initially allotted 12 minutes of stoppage time at the end of regulation, but halted the match in the eighth minute of stoppage time amid more chants (though CONCACAF claimed the match was halted at the referee's discretion).[8][9]
    United States
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     Mexico
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[7]
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Third place play-off
Panama
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     Mexico
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[12]
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Final
  Canada
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  United States
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:[12]
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Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 8 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2 goals per match.
2 goals
1 goal
Awards
CONCACAF announced the following squad as the best eleven of the finals after the conclusion of the tournament.[14]
Christian Pulisic was named MVP of the tournament, having scored a total of three goals in league and tournament play. Matt Turner was named best goalkeeper.[15]
- Best XI
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Turner |
Jesús Gallardo Chris Richards Steven Vitória |
Adalberto Carrasquilla Yunus Musah Alphonso Davies Giovanni Reyna |
Folarin Balogun Christian Pulisic Jonathan David |
References
- "Semifinal matchups and schedule confirmed for 2022/23 CNL Finals in Las Vegas". CONCACAF. March 29, 2023.
- "Richards, Balogun goals deliver another CNL crown to USA". CONCACAF. June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- "CONCACAF Nations League 2022–2023 Regulations" (PDF). CONCACAF. pp. 14, 23. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- "Las Vegas to host 2022/23 CNL Finals in June". CONCACAF.com. Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- Akers, Mick (March 20, 2023). "Allegiant Stadium set to host CONCACAF Nations Finals". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
- CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (June 15, 2023). "Congratulations to Jonathan David on being named the Player of the Match!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 15, 2023 – via Twitter.
- "2022/23 CNLF Semifinals Referee Appointments". CONCACAF. June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
- "US 3-0 win over Mexico cut short by homophobic chants on night of 4 red cards". Associated Press. June 16, 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- Cesar Hernandez (June 15, 2023). "Referee ends USMNT rout over Mexico early amid anti-gay chants". ESPN. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (June 16, 2023). "Congratulations to Christian Pulisic, who is named the Player of the Match!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Twitter.
- CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (June 18, 2023). "¡Felicidades a Jesús Gallardo por ser elegido como el Jugador del Partido en el duelo entre Panamá y @miseleccionmx!" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved June 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
- "2022/23 CNLF 3rd Place Match and Final Referee Appointments". CONCACAF. June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
- CONCACAF [@CNationsLeague] (June 18, 2023). "The honor of Player of the Match goes to Giovanni Reyna!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 18, 2023 – via Twitter.
- "Turner, Reyna and David lead way in CNL Finals Best XI". CONCACAF. June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- "Pulisic, Turner and Lake take home CNL honors". CONCACAF. June 19, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2023.