Canada learn schedule details for Concacaf Nations League qualifiers

Samuel Piette - David Wotherspoon - Dejan Jakovic - Jonathan Osorio - Canada - Warmups vs. New Zealand - Murcia, Spain

The Canadian national team learned the full schedule for their Concacaf Nations League qualifying campaign on Tuesday, as Concacaf unveiled the schedule for the qualifying phase of its new national-team competition


Les Rougesalready knew they'd be playing Caribbean nations Dominica, French Guiana, St. Kitts & Nevis and the US Virgin Islands; now they have specific times and dates, with venue locations to be confirmed in the days ahead. New coach John Herdman's side are one of 34 national teams taking part in the qualifying process.


Spanning 68 games in total, Nations League qualifying will take place during the four FIFA match windows of September, October and November of this year as well as March 2019. It also doubles as the qualification road for participation in the 2019 Gold Cup.

<strong>Canada</strong> at US Virgin Islands
Sept. 9
4 pm ET
Dominica at <strong>Canada</strong>
Oct. 16
7 pm ET
<strong>Canada</strong> at St. Kitts &amp; Nevis
Nov. 18
8 pm ET
French Guiana at <strong>Canada</strong>
March 26
7 pm ET

The top six finishers in Nations League qualifying will book their places in the A, or top division, of the Nations League, joining Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and the United States, who are already slotted into the top flight by virtue of having reached the final round of Concacaf 2018 World Cup qualifying, better known as the Hexagonal. The rest of the qualifying field will be grouped into the Nations League's B and C divisions, based on results. 


The top 10 finishers in Nations League qualifying will earn a place in next year's Gold Cup, which was recently expanded from 12 teams to 16 teams. There they will be grouped with the aforementioned six 2018 Hexagonal participants, who have also already booked spots in the Gold Cup.