Concacaf Announces Revised 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Schedule

New Schedule Features Three-Game Match Windows; Sequence of Matches Stays the Same
Image
Image

On Friday, Concacaf confirmed the updated schedule for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The new calendar includes a number of international windows extended by an additional day to allow for three matches to be played.

 

The original qualifying schedule was published following the official draw in August, but the competition was postponed due to the ongoing global health pandemic. For the final round, four of the five international windows will be packed with three matches each, making the qualifying road even more challenging.

While the schedule shifted, the sequence of opponents - which was determined for each nation during the draw - remained the same.

 


The USMNT’s updated schedule:

 

2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Schedule – Final Round

Matchday

Date

Home

Away

1

Sept. 2021

Group A/F Winner

USA

2

Sept. 2021

USA

Group B/E Winner

3

Sept. 2021

Honduras

USA

4

Oct. 2021

USA

Jamaica

5

Oct. 2021

Group C/D Winner

USA

6

Oct. 2021

USA

Costa Rica

7

Nov. 2021

USA

Mexico

8

Nov. 2021

Jamaica

USA

9

Jan. 2022

USA

Group A/F Winner

10

Jan. 2022

Group B/E Winner

USA

11

Jan. 2022

USA

Honduras

12

March 2022

Mexico

USA

13

March 2022

USA

Group C/D Winner

14

March 2022

Costa Rica

USA


MAKING UP THE FINAL ROUND NUMBERS

While the USA, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Honduras and Mexico are already locked in for the Final Round, the remaining 30 Concacaf nations will compete through two rounds to determine the remaining three teams who will take part in the “Octagonal”. The draw to determine groups for the First Round also took place back in August.


Scheduled for the March and part of the June 2021 FIFA windows, the First Round will feature six groups (Groups A-F) of five teams each playing four matches (two home, two away).


2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying – Concacaf First Round Groups

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

El Salvador

Canada

Curaçao

Panama

Haiti

Trinidad and Tobago

Antigua and Barbuda

Suriname

Guatemala

Dominican Republic

Nicaragua

St. Kitts and Nevis

Grenada

Bermuda

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Barbados

Belize

Guyana

Montserrat

Cayman Islands

Cuba

Dominica

St. Lucia

Puerto Rico

U.S. Virgin Islands

Aruba

British Virgin Islands

Anguilla

Turks and Caicos

Bahamas



The winners of each group will then advance to the Second Round where they will compete in a home-and-away playoff during the second half of the June 2021 FIFA window to complete the eight-team Final Round.

 

The matchups for the playoffs were pre-determined and the winner of each was also assigned a corresponding number for the Final Round schedule: Group A winner vs. Group F winner (Team 3); Group B winner vs. Group E winner (Team 1); Group C winner vs. Group D winner (Team 5). 


 

 

Go Deeper