Ahead of a pivotal CONCACAF Nations League campaign, the USMNT has selected the venue for their home leg of the quarterfinal round. Cincinnati's TQL Stadium, home to MLS' FC Cincinnati and a former Gold Cup venue, will welcome the USMNT for the home leg of their CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal tie.
The USMNT has fared quite well in Cincinnati. In five games played in the city, the USMNT has won twice, secured a draw twice, and lost just once. The one loss came in the USMNT's Cincinnati debut, which saw the Americans lose 3-0 to Venezuela in a friendly. It is worth noting that match was not played at TQL Stadium, but at Nippert Stadium, which is home to the NCAA's Cincinnati Bearcats.
At TQL Stadium, the USMNT boasts an unbeaten record. The most famous of the two wins takes the form of the USMNT's 2-0 win over Mexico in the third round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. One of the draws was in a Gold Cup quarterfinal against Canada, which took place back in 2023 and saw the Americans claim victory on penalties.
Outside of USMNT contests, the venue hosted an additional CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal between Guatemala and Jamaica, which the latter won by a 1-0 scoreline. TQL Stadium has also hosted three USWNT contests, all of which were won by the Americans (8-0 against Paraguay, 3-0 against South Africa, and 4-0 against Ireland). At the club level, the venue held four Club World Cup contests, one of which was Bayern Munich's dominant 10-0 win over Auckland City.
A brief reminder of how the CONCACAF Nations League works
All 41 national sides associated with CONCACAF automatically enter the competition. The 41 teams are then divided based on their spot in the confederation and world rankings, in addition to how they fared in the last edition of the tournament.
We'll focus on the top division. Given that the three leagues all play independently of one another, this is going to be the division of concern for the USMNT and their fans during this edition of the tournament. League A features sixteen teams, including the top four teams in the confederation based on the most recent FIFA World Rankings. The top four teams, including the United States, automatically qualify for the Nations League quarterfinal round and have received a bye through the group stage entirely. The other 12 are split via a draw into groups of six, with the top two teams in each group securing qualification to the quarterfinals.
The USMNT has already been pre-drawn to face the best-ranked second-place finisher in their quarterfinal round tie. The winner of that tie will advance to the Nations League Finals, which is held at a neutral site (Denver, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Los Angeles have hosted previous editions of the Nations League Finals).
In terms of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, whose qualifying runs partially through the Nations League, the League A quarterfinal winners and League B group winners will automatically qualify for the 2027 tournament. The remaining fourteen teams - which include the losing sides of the League A quarterfinals, the third-and-fourth-place teams in Group A, the League A/C play-in round winners, and the second-place teams in League B - will qualify for a play-in tournament to determine seven of the remaining eight national sides that will play in the competition.
What's next?
Before the USMNT's CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal round tie, they will contest a four-game September-October international window; two of those contests are against potential Nations League Finals opponents (Mexico and Canada).
The USMNT's quarterfinal round tie will take place during the November international window. CONCACAF's scheduling has determined that the tie will take place on November 17, the last possible day of matches for the next international window. That means that the USMNT will host the second leg after travelling for the first, which will take place on November 14.
Ticket presales for the match have already begun; the presale for Circle, VIP, and Premium U.S. Soccer Insiders started yesterday. The Standard Insider and VISA presales will all take place today (Thursday, September 17), while the general public will be given the opportunity to purchase tickets starting Friday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Kickoff for that second leg is scheduled to take place at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
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