Cayman set to face Guadeloupe in pair of historic Concacaf Nations League matches

After securing a historic promotion in Concacaf Nations League group play, the Cayman Islands Men’s National Team now turns its attention to the CNL Play-In, where it will face Guadeloupe in a home-and-away series with a trip to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims on the line.

Cayman will host Guadeloupe at 3 p.m. on Friday, 15 Nov. at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex for the first leg before traveling to Guadeloupe for the second leg matchup at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 19 Nov.

“I really believe in this group and what they can accomplish,” head coach Joey Jap Tjong said.

“They have already made Cayman Islands football history in this tournament and, if they play disciplined and they play together, there’s no limit on what they can achieve.”

Cayman enters the CNL Play-In riding one of the most successful stretches in men’s national team history. Over its last five matches, Cayman has won three times and drawn once. Cayman earlier this month earned a promotion to League B in the next CNL competition by virtue of finishing as the best second-place team in the CNL League C group stage. That finish also secured Cayman’s first-ever CNL Play-In appearance.

Guadeloupe enters the Play-In after finishing fifth in its League A group. In its final group stage match, it drew 0-0 with Martinique.

After the completion of Group Stage play for Leagues A and C, the League A fifth and sixth-place finishers — Guadeloupe and Guyana (Group A) and Cuba and French Guiana (Group B) — and the League C three group winners, Barbados (Group A), Belize (Group B), and Saint Kitts and Nevis (Group C) and the best second-place finisher, Cayman Islands (Group C), have advanced to the Concacaf Nations League Play-In.

The Concacaf Nations League Play-In consists of a home-and-away direct elimination round, where the eight participants have been divided into four matchups based on the Group Stage results. The four matchups are as follows:

PI1: Guadeloupe vs Cayman Islands (best 5th place vs best 2nd place)

PI2: Cuba vs Saint Kitts and Nevis (next 5th place vs 3rd best group winner)

PI3: French Guiana vs Belize (best 6th place vs 2nd best group winner)

PI4: Guyana vs Barbados (next 6th place vs best group winner)

After home-and-away play, the aggregate score winner in each matchup will advance to the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims. Click here to view the full schedule.

The fourth edition of the Concacaf Nations League began in September and was followed by 37 more exciting matches in October. Across the region, teams and players kept fans on the edge of their seats as they battled for a top position in their group, and to advance to the Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals and Play-In.