USMNT to host Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal home leg in Austin
CHICAGO – For the U.S. Men’s National Team’s critical 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinal home leg, the U.S. Soccer Federation has selected Austin as the host venue. Kickoff from Q2 Stadium is set for 8:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. local), and the match will be broadcast live on TNT, Universo and Peacock. Live Spanish-language audio for the match will be available on Fútbol de Primera radio platforms.
The Quarterfinal Round of the CNL serves as qualification for the prestigious 2024 Copa America, South America’s preeminent international tournament, which will be hosted in the United States next summer. The 2024 addition of the event will include 10 CONMEBOL nations and six Concacaf guest nations, including defending World Cup and Copa America champion Argentina led by captain and Inter Miami attacker Lionel Messi.
Q2 Stadium has hosted USMNT matches in three different official competitions, with all three previous visits ending in shutout victories in front of sold-out crowds.
“With this game being critical to our objectives of advancing in the Concacaf Nations League and qualifying for the 2024 Copa America, we think in all ways that Austin is the perfect host,” USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “Along with the world-class facilities, the fan support and the atmosphere in the stadium has been incredible every time we play there. We’re looking forward to coming back in November.”
The USMNT has won the first two editions of the Concacaf Nations League, beginning with a defeat of Mexico in a thrilling 3-2 extra-time victory in the inaugural championship in 2021. In June of this year, center back Chris Richards and forward Folarin Balogun became the first and second players to score their first international goals in a final with both first-half goals assisted by midfielder Gio Reyna as the USMNT claimed its third consecutive Concacaf tournament with a 2-0 defeat of Canada, adding to its 2021 Nations League and 2021 Gold Cup titles.
Presales for the match will begin on Monday, August 28 with the public sale beginning on Tuesday, September 5.
AT Q2
Q2 Stadium has hosted USMNT matches in three different official competitions, with all three previous visits ending in shutout victories in front of sold-out crowds. Gyasi Zardes bagged an 86th minute winner in the 1-0 win against Qatar in the semifinal of team’s run to the 2021 Gold Cup title. Three months later, eighteen-year-old forward Ricardo Pepi scored twice to spark the USA to a 2-0 shutout win against Jamaica in World Cup Qualifying.
In June of last year, Jesús Ferreira’s four goals propelled the USA to a 5-0 rout of Grenada as the team began its successful 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League campaign. Ferreira’s four goals tied a team record for most goals in a game, with the win extending the USMNT’s unbeaten streak on U.S. soil to 26 straight games, also tying the team’s record set from 2013-2015.
ABOUT THE CONCACAF NATIONS LEAGUE
Created to maximize the quality, quantity and frequency of competitive matches for all of Concacaf’s 41 Member Associations, the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League, which commences in September, has a revamped format to include more direct elimination matches that will qualify teams to continental summer competitions.
The 2023-24 CNL will continue to be played in a three-League format (A, B, and C), with the region’s 41 men’s senior national teams distributed into the Leagues according to the results of the 2022-23 CNL.
The USA will compete in League A, which has been expanded to include 16 teams (up from 12) and a new quarterfinal round has been created to deliver more direct elimination matches.
The Quarterfinal round will be played in a home-and-away format in the FIFA Match Window of November 2023, with the aggregate score winners in each Quarterfinal matchup advancing to the 2024 CNL Finals next March and qualifying for the 2024 CONMEBOL Copa America.
The four seeded nations in the Quarterfinals are (in alphabetical order): Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, and the United States.
The pairings for the Quarterfinals will be determined based on the Concacaf Rankings of October 2023 (after the FIFA Window) and the 2023-24 CNL Group Stage results.
