Guyana to face Guatemala in 2025 Gold Cup Prelims

Following November’s Concacaf Nations League matches, Concacaf has confirmed the 2025 Gold Cup Prelims participating national teams and matchups.

Guyana’s Golden Jaguars have a tough draw against the formidable Guatemala.

The Latin American nation is ranked ninth in Concacaf and has only missed six Gold Cups since 1963.

Guyana is ranked 20th and qualified for the main draw in 2019, but it has been unable to advance beyond the prelims since.

In the two recent meetings – League A of the Nations League, Guatemala won 3-1, while at the Gold Cup prelims in 2021, they won 4-0.

The Prelims will be played during the FIFA Match Window of March 2025 and consist of seven home-and-away matchups.

The 14 national teams that have qualified for the 2025 Gold Cup Prelims are, in alphabetical order per League:

League A (8 teams): Quarterfinal losing teams (four teams): Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Suriname

Group Stage Third Place Finishers (two teams): Guatemala, Nicaragua

Group Stage Fourth Place Finishers (two teams): Martinique and Trinidad and Tobago

League B (2 teams): Two best second-place finishers (two teams): Bermuda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Play-In (four teams)L Play-in Winners (four teams): Belize, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Guyana

To determine the Prelims matchups, Concacaf has ranked the participating national teams 1-14 based on the Concacaf Rankings, with the highest-ranked national team facing the lowest-ranked national team (1 vs 14).

2025 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims Rankings
*As of November 20, 2024

(1) Costa Rica
(2) Jamaica
(3) Honduras
(4) Guatemala
(5) Trinidad and Tobago
(6) Martinique
(7) Nicaragua
(8) Guadeloupe
(9) Suriname
(10) Cuba
(11) Guyana
(12) Bermuda
(13) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
(14) Belize

The seven matchups are as follows:

(1) Costa Rica vs Belize (14)
(2) Jamaica vs Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (13)
(3) Honduras vs Bermuda (12)
(4) Guatemala vs Guyana (11)
(5) Trinidad and Tobago vs Cuba (10)
(6) Martinique vs Suriname (9)
(7) Nicaragua vs Guadeloupe (8)

After home-and-away play, the winner in each matchup will qualify for the Group Stage of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.

The Prelims schedule will be announced at a later date. (Modified release from Concacaf)