Tough road tests await Canada, Costa Rica in League A | OneFootball

MIAMI, Florida – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 sides Canada and Costa Rica each will be faced with a difficult road test as League A action continues on Saturday in the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League.

Curacao vs. Canada

Canada will be looking to take top spot in Group C of League A when they take on Curacao at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad, Curacao on Saturday.

The match marks Canada’s first game since their World Cup group stage finale in which they narrowly fell 2-1 to eventual semifinalists Morocco.

With a game in hand, Canada are well-positioned to advance to the CNL Finals for a first time, but there is still work to do against a Curacao side that will be keen to avenge their 4-0 defeat to the Canadians last June.

Some familiar names will dot the Curacao squad that will host Canada, including Leandro Bacuna who scored one of the goals in the 2-1 win at Honduras. Aiding the cause will be Elson Hooi and Rangelo Janga, who have a combined three career CNL goals.

In the back, Curacao know they will be in good hands with veteran GK Eloy Room, who has amassed 21 career CNL saves already.

Canada will counter with many of the players who were at Qatar 2022, including the dangerous attacking quartet of Cyle Larin, Tajon Buchanan, Jonathan David and Alphonso Davies.

Davies made Canada history by scoring the nation’s first ever goal in a Men’s World Cup, and also tallied twice against Curacao in that 4-0 win last summer. Meanwhile, David has two goals and two assists in his CNL career.

A win would lift Canada up to first place in the group, level on points with Honduras (6) but ahead on goal difference. The match marks Curacao’s final contest of the group stage. The Caribbean side are currently third in the group with three points.

Martinique vs. Costa Rica

2019-20 CNL Finals participant Costa Rica will try to keep their hopes alive of a CNL Finals return trip when they visit Martinique in Group B action on Saturday at the Stade Pierre-Aliker in Fort-de-France, Martinique.

At present, the Ticos are second in the group with three points, while Martinique are third with a point. Martinique have been eliminated from winning the group, but a spot in the Gold Cup group stage could still happen with a win on Saturday and then a Panama victory versus Costa Rica on the final matchday.

Three points are paramount for Costa Rica, who will know that a win against Martinique and then a home win in the finale against Panama will be enough to catapult themselves into the CNL Finals this June in Las Vegas.

Costa Rica claimed a 2-0 win in their first meeting in San Jose on the strength of goals from Francisco Calvo and Joel Campbell, who just so happen to be Costa Rica’s all-time CNL goal leaders with four and two goals, respectively.

Those two will be back in the fold, but so will a handful of young players that have Costa Rica fans dreaming of a bright future. Jewison Bennette (18), Aaron Suarez (20), Brandon Aguilera (19) and Josimar Alcocer (18) have all been called by Head Coach Luis Fernando Suarez and have already proven themselves in both Concacaf club and national team competition.

Martinique are still searching for their first goal in this CNL, but they did deliver an excellent defensive performance in their last outing in a 0-0 draw with Panama. MF Cyril Mandouki is one of the Martinique players on the squad for this window who has a CNL goal in his career.

The Caribbean side will certainly be targeting all three points to try to qualify for a fourth straight Gold Cup.