The Concacaf Nations League is a recently created tournament in which all the national teams of the so-called Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Football, affiliated to FIFA, converge. The tournament, inaugurated in 2019, has historically had only one winner, which in this edition will not be able to retain the title.
How will this edition of the Final Four end?
But let’s talk about the finalists of this ‘Final 4’, Mexico and Panama. Both teams face each other for the championship, and neither has won the Concacaf Nations League so far.
The Mexican national team is still fighting for supremacy in the 2024-25 Concacaf Nations League, after overcoming Canada in the semifinals. Mexico achieved victory last Thursday thanks to goals from Raul Jimenez, who scored the first before the first minute and the second with a free-kick in the 75th minute
Panama, for its part,surprised everyone by defeating the United States in the other semifinal, with a late goal by Cecilio Waterman. The match ended 1-0 in favor of the Canal team, which gave them the long-awaited pass to the final.
USMNT, ‘unique’ champions
To better understand the context, here is a brief history of the tournament. The Concacaf Nations League was born in 2019 with the aim of giving national teams from North, Central America and the Caribbean the opportunity to compete outside of the World Cup qualifiers and to gain experience along the way
To date, the United States was the only team to have won the Concacaf Nations League. The Stars and Stripes have lifted the trophy in all three editions that have been played:
- In the 2019-2020 edition, the United States defeated Mexico 3-2 in a great match in Denver.
- In the 2022-2023 United States beat Canada 2-0 in Las Vegas.
- In 2023-2024: The United States again defeated Mexico, this time 2-0, in Arlington.
The United States remains the tournament’s top winner with three trophies to its name, although Mexico and Panama now have the opportunity to join the list of champions.
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