Preview: Nicaragua vs Dominican Republic - prediction, team news, lineups

A place in the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals is at stake for the Dominican Republic on Sunday, when they travel to Estadio Nacional de Futbol to face Nicaragua.

Los Pinoleros sit bottom of Group A with 0 points after losing 3-0 to Costa Rica on Thursday, while the Dominican Republic dropped to third after a 4-1 defeat to Haiti.

Match preview

Technically, there is still something to play for when Nicaragua take to the field on matchday four, but it would take some miraculous results to keep them out of the drop zone.

If they are to survive relegation, they would need to win on Sunday and hope for a Costa Rica defeat and a nine-goal swing.

In 2026, the Nicaraguans have been the whipping boys of their opponents, losing five of their six matches this year, while conceding three or more goals in five of those outings.

Should they lose their final outing of the competition, they would become just the second CONCACAF team in League A to end the group phase without a single point, with Cuba doing it previously in 2019-20.

Juan Cruz Real will try to earn his first home win as manager this weekend and the first for the men’s team since blanking Honduras 2-0 in November of last year.

Nicaragua have never lost a League A fixture when netting the opening goal, though that has only happened once before, blanking French Guiana in their opening match of the 2024-25 campaign.

With one match remaining in the group phase, Marcelo Neveleff has his team in the hunt for a historic achievement.

A win on Sunday could send the Dominican Republic into the last eight of this competition for the first time, with this being their first appearance in the top tier.

As things stand, they need a win and a lot of help to get to that stage, as Haiti have a three-point advantage on them with a goal difference of +6 and the Dominicans are at -1.

They could become only the second newly promoted side to reach the knockout phase of this competition on Sunday, with the other being Trinidad and Tobago in 2023-24.

Losing this weekend would mark the first time they suffer consecutive Nations League defeats.

Quisqueyanos can extend their unbeaten run against the Nicaraguans to three games this weekend, beating them in dramatic fashion 3-2 on matchday one this season thanks to a 97th-minute strike.

Nicaragua CONCACAF Nations League form:

Dominican Republic CONCACAF Nations League form:

Team News

Three Nicaraguans made their senior debuts against Costa Rica this week, with Brandon Mayorga starting between the sticks, while Kadeem Cole and Ramon Estrada began in the midfield.

Jaime Moreno was the last player to score for them in this competition, with Byron Bonilla and Juan Luis Perez netting in their opening defeat against the Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic had just one newcomer in their starting 11 on Thursday, as Juan Castillo got the call in place of Peter Gonzalez.

Dorny Romero had the only goal for them against Haiti, though the Haitians scored two more after that and won convincingly.

Nicaragua possible starting lineup:

Mayorga; Cano, Fletes, Reyes, Acevedo; Salinas, Estrada, Cole, Hernandez; Moreno, Talavera

Dominican Republic possible starting lineup:

Valdez; De Lucas, Pujol, Dollenmayer, Firpo; Rosario, Lopez; Romero, Morschel, Rosario; Diaz

We say: Nicaragua 1-2 Dominican Republic

The Nicaraguans are struggling with depth and cannot seem to find that killer instinct when needed, and we believe the Dominicans will find a way in the latter stages to forge ahead.

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