PORT OF SPAIN (DA) — Curaçao reached the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals for the first time Sunday, Oct. 4, with a 1-1 draw against Trinidad and Tobago at Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Jordi Paulina scored in the 61st minute to secure the point Curaçao needed after Luke Phillip put the hosts ahead in the 39th.
The Blue Wave finished unbeaten atop Group A with 10 points from 3 wins and a draw, scoring 12 goals and conceding 5. Haiti finished with 9 points after losing 2-0 to Costa Rica on Sunday.
Curaçao continued threatening after Paulina’s equalizer, finishing with 5 shots on goal to Trinidad and Tobago’s 2. Trinidad’s goalkeeper denied Juninho Bacuna in the 78th and 81st minutes and again in stoppage time.
Paulina was booked in the 63rd minute, Sherel Floranus in the 89th and Ar’jany Martha in the 90th.
Curaçao has no suspensions to carry into the quarterfinals. Single yellow cards are cleared after the group stage, giving the players a clean slate.
The quarterfinals will be played over two legs during the Nov. 9-17 international window, with one home match and one away match for each team.
Mexico, the United States, Canada and Panama received direct entry to the quarterfinals. CONCACAF will determine their final seeded order using its rankings after the September-October international window.
Under the current order, Curaçao would face Panama if it finishes as the better of the two group winners, or Canada if Suriname overtakes it. The better group runner-up would meet the United States, with the other runner-up facing Mexico.
Suriname is the only team that can finish above Curaçao among the group winners. It would do so by beating Guatemala by 6 or more goals Monday, Oct. 5. A 5-goal win would also work if Suriname scored at least 8 goals; a 7-2 win would require further tiebreakers.