2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup qualification

2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup qualification
Tournament details
DatesLeague stage:
September 20 – December 5, 2023
Play-offs:
February 17, 2024
Teams34 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played86
Goals scored353 (4.1 per match)
Top scorer(s)El Salvador Brenda Cerén
Haiti Melchie Dumornay
(8 goals each)
2028

The 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup qualification competition, also known as the Road to CONCACAF W Gold Cup, was a women's football tournament that was contested by 34 of the senior women's national teams of the member associations of CONCACAF. The competition decided six of the twelve participating teams of the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup, the inaugural edition of the W Gold Cup.

The league stage of the qualifying was played from September 20 to December 5, 2023, with the three League A group winners qualifying for the final tournament. Three additional teams qualified via the play-off round, contested on February 17, 2024, by the League A group runners-up and the League B group winners. These six teams joined the two CONCACAF teams qualified for the Olympics and four guests at the W Gold Cup, to be contested from February 20 to March 10, 2024.[1][2]

Format[edit]

On December 10, 2020, the CONCACAF Council approved the structure and calendar of the competition. The qualification competition, known as the "Road to Concacaf W Gold Cup", began with the group stage, featuring 34 women's national teams of CONCACAF split into three leagues (A, B and C). Each league featured three groups, containing three teams each in League A, and four teams each in Leagues B and C. The teams in each group played against each other home-and-away in a double round-robin format. The top three teams in League A qualified directly for the W Gold Cup. The three group runners-up of League A and the three League B group winners participated in a play-off on February 17, 2024, to compete for the final three spots at the W Gold Cup. The play-offs were originally planned to take place in March 2024,[2] but were moved to February to accommodate the W Gold Cup final tournament also being moved (from June to February and March 2024).[3] The two CONCACAF women's national teams that qualify for the Summer Olympics in 2024 (the United States and Canada) received a bye directly to the W Gold Cup, skipping qualification.[2]

Tiebreakers[edit]

Teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). The rankings of teams in each group were determined as follows (regulations Articles 12.3):[4]

  1. points obtained in all group matches;
  2. goal difference in all group matches;
  3. number of goals scored in all group matches;

If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:

  1. points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  2. goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  3. number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned;
  4. lowest fair play points in all group matches:
    • first yellow card: minus 1 point;
    • indirect red card (second yellow card): minus 3 points;
    • direct red card: minus 4 points;
    • yellow card and direct red card: minus 5 points;
  5. drawing of lots by CONCACAF.

Seeding[edit]

Of the 41 CONCACAF member associations, 34 entered into the qualification competition, while the two CONCACAF teams that qualified for the Summer Olympics (the United States and Canada) advanced directly to the final competition.

On April 27, 2023, CONCACAF announced 33 countries had entered into the qualifying competition (including Jamaica, the loser of the CONCACAF Olympic play-off).[5] The teams were split into leagues and pots based on the CONCACAF Women's Ranking of March 2023,[6] with League A containing nine teams and Leagues B and C containing twelve teams. On May 11, the CONCACAF Council approved the late entries of Bonaire, Cuba and Saint Lucia into the competition. To preserve the integrity of the leagues, these teams were placed in League C regardless of their ranking, though the pots were updated based on the ranking of the new teams. At the same time, the British Virgin Islands and Sint Maarten (originally in League C, pot 3) were confirmed to have withdrawn from the competition, bringing the total number of qualifying entrants to 34, and the number of teams in League C to thirteen. To accommodate the newly added teams, League C was expanded from three groups of four teams to one group of four teams (Group A) and three groups of three teams (Groups B, C and D).[7]

The draw for the group stage took place on May 17, 2023, 19:00 EDT, in Miami, Florida, United States.[5] Teams were split into three pots of three teams in League A, four pots of three teams in League B, and three pots of four teams and one pot of one team in League C. The pots were drawn from sequentially, with drawn teams assigned to groups in ascending order.

Qualified to final tournament
Team Pts Rank
 United States 7,699 1
 Canada[a] 5,231 2
League A
Pot Team Pts Rank
1  Costa Rica 3,831 3
 Jamaica[a] 3,496 4
 Mexico 3,085 5
2  Panama 2,381 6
 Haiti 2,235 7
 Trinidad and Tobago 2,231 8
3  Guatemala 1,121 9
 Puerto Rico 958 11
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 943 12
League B
Pot Team Pts Rank
1  El Salvador 846 13
 Guyana 844 14
 Dominican Republic 823 15
2  Bermuda 820 16
 Nicaragua 777 17
 Antigua and Barbuda 722 18
3  Honduras 556 19
 Suriname 499 20
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 427 21
4  Martinique 409 22
 Barbados 405 23
 Dominica 365 24
League C
Pot Team Pts Rank
1  Cuba[b] 1,080 10
 U.S. Virgin Islands 332 25
 Belize 324 26
 Curaçao 318 27
2  Cayman Islands 305 28
 Saint Lucia[b] 301 29
 Aruba 274 30
 Grenada 165 31
3  Anguilla 133 32
 Turks and Caicos Islands 122 33
 Guadeloupe 23 35
 Bahamas 0 36
4  Bonaire[b] 0 37
Did not enter
Team Pts Rank
 British Virgin Islands[c] 62 34
 French Guiana 0 38
 Montserrat 0 39
 Sint Maarten[c] 0 40
 Saint Martin 0 41

Notes

  1. ^ a b The result of the CONCACAF Olympic play-off was not known at the time of the draw.
  2. ^ a b c Late entry accepted, placed into League C regardless of ranking
  3. ^ a b Initially entered (placed in League C, pot 3), but withdrew before the draw

Schedule[edit]

The fixtures for the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup qualification competition were announced by CONCACAF on July 5, 2023.[8]

Stage Round FIFA match window[9]
League stage Matchday 1 September 20–26, 2023
Matchday 2
Matchday 3 October 25–31, 2023
Matchday 4
Matchday 5 November 29 – December 5, 2023
Matchday 6
Play-offs Play-off February 17, 2024

League A[edit]

Group A[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Mexico Puerto Rico Trinidad and Tobago
1  Mexico 4 4 0 0 12 1 +11 12 Qualification for 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup 2–1 6–0
2  Puerto Rico 4 1 1 2 3 6 −3 4 Advance to play-offs 0–3 0–0
3  Trinidad and Tobago 4 0 1 3 1 9 −8 1 0–1 1–2
Source: CONCACAF
Mexico 2–1 Puerto Rico
Report

Mexico 6–0 Trinidad and Tobago
Report

Trinidad and Tobago 1–2 Puerto Rico
Report

Puerto Rico 0–0 Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Referee: Merlin Vanessa Soto (Honduras)

Puerto Rico 0–3 Mexico
Report
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren (Canada)

Trinidad and Tobago 0–1 Mexico
Report Ferral 40'

Group B[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Panama Guatemala Jamaica
1  Panama 4 2 1 1 8 5 +3 7 Qualification for 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup 2–3 2–1
2  Guatemala 4 1 2 1 6 8 −2 5 Advance to play-offs 0–3 1–1
3  Jamaica 4 0 3 1 5 6 −1 3 1–1 2–2
Source: CONCACAF
Guatemala 0–3 Panama
Report
Referee: Carly Shaw-MacLaren (Canada)[10]

Panama 2–3 Guatemala
Report
Referee: Francia González (Mexico)[10]

Panama 2–1 Jamaica
Report

Jamaica 2–2 Guatemala
Report
Referee: Diana Pérez (Mexico)

Jamaica 1–1 Panama
Report

Guatemala 1–1 Jamaica
Report

Group C[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Costa Rica Haiti Saint Kitts and Nevis
1  Costa Rica 4 3 0 1 32 2 +30 9 Qualification for 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup 2–1 11–0
2  Haiti 4 3 0 1 26 2 +24 9 Advance to play-offs 1–0 13–0
3  Saint Kitts and Nevis 4 0 0 4 0 54 −54 0 0–19 0–11
Source: CONCACAF
Haiti 1–0 Costa Rica
Report
Referee: Myriam Marcotte (Canada)[10]

Costa Rica 11–0 Saint Kitts and Nevis
Report

Saint Kitts and Nevis 0–11 Haiti
Report

Haiti 13–0 Saint Kitts and Nevis
Report
SKNFA Technical Center, Basseterre (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Referee: Francia González (Mexico)

Costa Rica 2–1 Haiti
Report

Saint Kitts and Nevis 0–19 Costa Rica
Report

League B[edit]

Group A[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Guyana Suriname Antigua and Barbuda Dominica
1  Guyana 6 5 0 1 20 2 +18 15 Advance to play-offs 1–0 3–0 5–0
2  Suriname 6 4 0 2 17 2 +15 12 0–1 1–0 11–0
3  Antigua and Barbuda 6 1 1 4 3 8 −5 4 2–1 0–1 1–2
4  Dominica 6 1 1 4 2 30 −28 4 0–9 0–4 0–0
Source: CONCACAF
Dominica 0–4 Suriname
Report
Referee: Merlin Vanessa Soto (Honduras)[10]
Antigua and Barbuda 2–1 Guyana
Report

Guyana 5–0 Dominica
Report
Referee: Neressa Goldson (Jamaica)[10]
Suriname 1–0 Antigua and Barbuda
Report

Suriname 0–1 Guyana
Report
Dominica 0–0 Antigua and Barbuda
Report
Referee: Shandor Wilkinson (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Antigua and Barbuda 1–2 Dominica
Report
Referee: Janeishka Caban (Puerto Rico)
Guyana 1–0 Suriname
Report

Antigua and Barbuda 0–1 Suriname
Report
Referee: Janeishka Caban (Puerto Rico)
Dominica 0–9 Guyana
Report
Referee: Kedeen Foster (Cayman Islands)

Guyana 3–0 Antigua and Barbuda
Report
Referee: Neressa Goldson (Jamaica)
Suriname 11–0 Dominica
Report

Group B[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification El Salvador Martinique Nicaragua Honduras
1  El Salvador 6 6 0 0 24 2 +22 18 Advance to play-offs 9–1 4–1 5–0
2  Martinique 6 2 1 3 7 15 −8 7 0–2 1–0 0–2
3  Nicaragua 6 1 2 3 5 11 −6 5 0–3 1–1 2–1
4  Honduras 6 1 1 4 5 13 −8 4 0–1 1–4 1–1
Source: CONCACAF
Martinique 0–2 Honduras
Report
Referee: Amairany García (Mexico)[10]
Nicaragua 0–3 El Salvador
Report

El Salvador 9–1 Martinique
Report
Referee: Kimberly Sánchez (Costa Rica)[10]
Honduras 1–1 Nicaragua
Report

Martinique 1–0 Nicaragua
Report
Honduras 0–1 El Salvador
Report

El Salvador 5–0 Honduras
Report
Nicaragua 1–1 Martinique
Report
Referee: Mayary Cartagena (Guatemala)

Nicaragua 2–1 Honduras
Report
Martinique 0–2 El Salvador
Report

Honduras 1–4 Martinique
Report
El Salvador 4–1 Nicaragua
Report

Group C[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Dominican Republic Bermuda Barbados Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
1  Dominican Republic 6 5 0 1 24 3 +21 15 Advance to play-offs 2–0 3–0 4–0
2  Bermuda 6 4 1 1 14 5 +9 13 2–0 4–2 3–0[a]
3  Barbados 6 1 1 4 11 19 −8 4 1–7 1–1 5–0
4  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6 1 0 5 4 26 −22 3 0–8 0–4 4–2
Source: CONCACAF
Notes:
  1. ^ Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were unable to travel to Bermuda prior to their scheduled match on December 1. The matter was resolved by CONCACAF by awarding Bermuda with a 3–0 win.[11]
Bermuda 2–0 Dominican Republic
Report
Barbados 5–0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Report

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0–4 Bermuda
Report
Referee: Priscila Pérez (Mexico)[10]
Dominican Republic 3–0 Barbados
Report

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0–8 Dominican Republic
Report
Barbados 1–1 Bermuda
Report
Referee: Saphire Stockman (Costa Rica)

Bermuda 4–2 Barbados
Report
Referee: Katia Itzel García (Mexico)
Dominican Republic 4–0 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Report
Referee: Suleimy Linares Sáez (Cuba)

Barbados 1–7 Dominican Republic
Small 32' Report
Referee: Karitza Guerra (Honduras)
Bermuda 3–0
Awarded[11]
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Report

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4–2 Barbados
Report
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago)
Referee: Glenda López (Guatemala)

League C[edit]

Group A[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Belize Aruba Bonaire Turks and Caicos Islands
1  Belize 6 6 0 0 20 1 +19 18 2–0 3–0 3–0
2  Aruba 6 3 0 3 19 6 +13 9 0–1 5–0 8–0
3  Bonaire 6 2 1 3 6 14 −8 7 1–5 3–1 0–0
4  Turks and Caicos Islands 6 0 1 5 0 24 −24 1 0–6 0–5 0–2
Source: CONCACAF
Belize 2–0 Aruba
Report
Referee: Mayary Cartagena (Guatemala)[10]
Bonaire 0–0 Turks and Caicos Islands
Report

Turks and Caicos Islands 0–5 Aruba
Report
Belize 3–0 Bonaire
Report
Referee: Mirian Leon (El Salvador)[10]

Turks and Caicos Islands 0–6 Belize
Report
Bonaire 3–1 Aruba
Report
Referee: Isabelle Duclos (Canada)

Aruba 5–0 Bonaire
Report
Belize 3–0 Turks and Caicos Islands
Report
Referee: Karitza Guerra (Honduras)

Aruba 8–0 Turks and Caicos Islands
Report
Bonaire 1–5 Belize
Report
Referee: Priscila Pérez (Mexico)

Aruba 0–1 Belize
Report
Turks and Caicos Islands 0–2 Bonaire
Report

Group B[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Cuba Saint Lucia Guadeloupe
1  Cuba 4 4 0 0 11 2 +9 12 4–1 3–0
2  Saint Lucia 4 2 0 2 12 8 +4 6 1–2 5–1
3  Guadeloupe 4 0 0 4 2 15 −13 0 0–2 1–5
Source: CONCACAF
Saint Lucia 1–2 Cuba
Report

Guadeloupe 1–5 Saint Lucia
Report

Guadeloupe 0–2 Cuba
Report

Cuba 3–0 Guadeloupe
Report

Saint Lucia 5–1 Guadeloupe
Report

Cuba 4–1 Saint Lucia
Report

Group C[edit]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Grenada United States Virgin Islands The Bahamas
1  Grenada 4 4 0 0 16 2 +14 12 4–0 4–1
2  U.S. Virgin Islands 4 1 1 2 2 7 −5 4 0–2 0–0
3