WILLEMSTAD (DA) — The Curaçao men’s national team will open its 2026-27 Concacaf Nations League campaign Thursday night on the road against Costa Rica, beginning a four-match League A group stage that will also determine the Blue Wave’s path toward the 2027 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Curaçao faces Costa Rica at 10 p.m. Curaçao time at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa in San Jose. The Blue Wave then returns home to Stadion Ergilio Hato for matches against Nicaragua on Sunday and Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 1 before closing the group stage away to Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 4.
Curaçao’s four League A Group A matches are:
Sept. 24 — Costa Rica vs. Curaçao, 10 p.m. Curaçao time, Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, San Jose
Sept. 27 — Curaçao vs. Nicaragua, 8 p.m. Curaçao time, Stadion Ergilio Hato, Willemstad
Oct. 1 — Curaçao vs. Trinidad and Tobago, 6 p.m. Curaçao time, Stadion Ergilio Hato, Willemstad
Oct. 4 — Trinidad and Tobago vs. Curaçao, 6 p.m. Curaçao time, Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain
Curaçao shares Group A with Costa Rica, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Under League A’s Swiss-style format, each of the six teams plays four matches — two at home and two away — rather than facing every group opponent.
The top two finishers in each League A group will advance to the Nations League quarterfinals, where Mexico, the United States, Canada and Panama have direct entry as the four pre-seeded teams.
The quarterfinals will be played over two legs in November. The four winners will advance to the Concacaf Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in March 2027 and qualify directly for the 2027 Gold Cup.
The Nations League is the sole qualifying pathway to that Gold Cup, meaning Curaçao’s final group position will remain important even if the Blue Wave does not reach the quarterfinals.
The third- and fourth-place finishers in each League A group will advance to the Gold Cup Prelims.
Teams finishing fifth and sixth will enter the League A and C Play-In alongside the three League C group winners and the best second-place finisher from League C. The four Play-In winners will also move on to the Gold Cup Prelims.
Fourteen teams will contest seven home-and-away preliminary series in March 2027, with the seven series winners earning Gold Cup places.
League A Group B consists of Honduras, Jamaica, Guatemala, Suriname, Martinique and El Salvador.
The fifth edition of the Nations League begins Wednesday with League C action. League A and League B start Thursday as Concacaf moves into a September-October window featuring 74 group-stage matches.
Thursday will also bring a competition milestone. Cayman Islands and Dominica will meet at Windsor Park in Roseau, Dominica, in the 500th match in Concacaf Nations League history. Concacaf will mark the occasion with commemorative match patches and customized match balls.
For Curaçao, the focus starts at Saprissa before two consecutive home matches in Willemstad. With Nations League advancement and Gold Cup qualification tied to the same four-game group stage, every result will carry consequences beyond the immediate standings.