2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification will act as qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Qatar, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Three direct slots and one inter-confederation play-off slot in the final tournament are available for CONCACAF teams.[1]

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
Tournament details
DatesOctober 2020 – March 2022
Teams35 (from 1 confederation)

Format

Original format

On 10 July 2019, CONCACAF announced a restructured qualifying format for the World Cup.[2] After CONCACAF initially announced in March 2018 that they would use the CONCACAF Ranking Index to determine the seeding of CONCACAF teams for qualifying to international tournaments,[3] it was determined that FIFA Rankings would be used instead.

  • Top-seeded Hexagonal group: The top 6 ranked CONCACAF teams based on the FIFA rankings of June 2020 will play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group (often referred to as the "Hexagonal"). The top three teams will qualify for the World Cup, and the fourth-placed team will advance to the CONCACAF play-off round.
  • Lower-seeded group stage and knockout stage: The remaining CONCACAF teams (ranked 7 to 35 based on the FIFA rankings of June 2020) will be divided into eight groups (five groups of four teams and three groups of three teams) to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The winners of each group will advance to a knockout stage, consisting of the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final to be played in a two-legged home-and-away series. The winner of the knockout stage will advance to the CONCACAF play-off round.
  • Play-off round: The fourth-placed team of the Hexagonal group will face the winner of the knockout stage in order to advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

However, on 25 June 2020, following FIFA's decision to postpone the September 2020 international window due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CONCACAF noted that "The challenges presented by postponements to the football calendar, and the incomplete FIFA rankings cycle in our confederation, means our current World Cup qualifying process has been compromised and will be changed."[4]

New format

On 27 July 2020, CONCACAF announced a new qualifying format for the World Cup.[5]

  • First round: CONCACAF teams ranked 6 to 35 based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020 are drawn into six groups of five and play single round-robin matches (two home and two away), with group winners qualifying for the second round.
  • Second round: The six first round group winners will play in a two-legged home-and-away series. The three winners will advance to the final round.
  • Final round: The three second round winners will join the top five CONCACAF teams based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020 and play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group. The top three teams qualify for the World Cup, and the fourth-placed team advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants

All 35 FIFA-affiliated national teams from CONCACAF will enter qualification. Teams were seeded based on their July 2020 FIFA rankings.

From the July 2020 FIFA World Rankings[6]
Bye to third round
(Ranked 1st to 5th)		 Competing in first round
(Ranked 6th to 35th)
  1.  Mexico (11)
  2.  United States (22)
  3.  Costa Rica (46)
  4.  Jamaica (48)
  5.  Honduras (62)
  1.  El Salvador (69)
  2.  Canada (73)
  3.  Curaçao (80)
  4.  Panama (81)
  5.  Haiti (86)
  6.  Trinidad and Tobago (105)
  7.  Antigua and Barbuda (126)
  8.  Guatemala (130)
  9.  Saint Kitts and Nevis (139)
  10.  Suriname (141)
  11.  Nicaragua (151)
  12.  Dominican Republic (158)
  13.  Grenada (159)
  14.  Barbados (162)
  15.  Guyana (166)

Schedule

The schedule of the competition is expected to be as follows, according to the FIFA International Match Calendar.[5][7]

On 25 June 2020, FIFA announced that the inter-confederation play-offs, originally scheduled to be played in March 2022, were moved to June 2022.[8]

Stage Matchday FIFA international dates
First round Window 1 7, 8, 10, 11 & 13 October 2020
Window 2 11, 13, 14 & 17 November 2020
Second round First leg 22–30 March 2021
Second leg
Final round Matchday 1 31 May – 8 June 2021
Matchday 2
Matchday 3 TBC June 2021 (pending confirmation from FIFA)
Matchday 4
Matchday 5 30 August – 7 September 2021
Matchday 6
Matchday 7 4–12 October 2021
Matchday 8
Matchday 9 8–16 November 2021
Matchday 10
Matchday 11 TBC January 2022 (pending confirmation from FIFA)
Matchday 12
Matchday 13 21–29 March 2022
Matchday 14

First round

The six highest ranked teams of the first round have been pre-seeded into groups A through F. Teams in their groups will play each other once, a total of four matches; two home and two away matches. The draw for the first round will be held on 19 August 2020, 19:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich.[9][10]

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  El Salvador 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to second round
2 A2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 A3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 A4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 A5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on a day in October 2020. Source: FIFA

Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to second round
2 B2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 B3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 B4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 B5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on a day in October 2020. Source: FIFA

Group C
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Curaçao 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to second round
2 C2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 C3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 C4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 C5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on a day in October 2020. Source: FIFA

Group D
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Panama 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to second round
2 D2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 D3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 D4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 D5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on a day in October 2020. Source: FIFA

Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Haiti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to second round
2 E2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 E3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 E4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 E5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on a day in October 2020. Source: FIFA

Group F
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Trinidad and Tobago 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to second round
2 F2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 F3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4 F4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 F5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on a day in October 2020. Source: FIFA

Second round

The second round will see the six group winners from the first round playing in three home-and-away ties of pre-determined pairings. The winners will advance to the final round.

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
First round group A winner – First round group F winner March 2021 March 2021
First round group B winner – First round group E winner March 2021 March 2021
First round group C winner – First round group D winner March 2021 March 2021

Final round

As a result of CONCACAF's revision to their World Cup qualifying format, the traditional Hexagonal has been expanded to two more teams, as its final and decisive round. The top five CONCACAF teams in the July 2020 FIFA rankings immediately enter in the final round, with the three winners of the second round. The draw to determine the schedule for the final round will be held on 19 August 2020, 19:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich.[11][12]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification T1 T2 T3
1  Mexico 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Qualification to 2022 FIFA World Cup —
2  United States 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
3  Costa Rica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
4  Jamaica 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs —
5  Honduras 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
6 Second round winner 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
7 Second round winner 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
8 Second round winner 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 —
First match(es) will be played on a day in June 2021. Source: FIFA

The draw for the final round will contain two pots. Pot A will contain the names of the 8 participants. Pot B will contain the numbers 1–8, representing the team's position in the final round.

Inter-confederation play-offs
Main article: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The inter-confederation play-offs will be determined by another draw to be held at a later date. They are scheduled to be played in June 2022.

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References
  1. "Current allocation of FIFA World Cup™ confederation slots maintained". FIFA.com. FIFA. 30 May 2015.
  2. "Concacaf Announces Format for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Confederation Qualifiers". Concacaf. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  3. "Concacaf Nations League". Concacaf. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  4. "CONCACAF confirms 2022 World Cup qualifying will change". tsn.ca. Canadian Press. 25 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  5. "New Concacaf Qualifiers announced for regional qualification to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". Concacaf. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. "FIFA Men's Ranking – July 2020 (CONCACAF)". FIFA.com. 16 July 2020.
  7. "INTERNATIONAL MATCH CALENDAR 2018-2024" (PDF). FIFA.
  8. "FIFA Council unanimously approves COVID-19 Relief Plan". FIFA.com. 25 June 2020.
  9. "Concacaf preliminary draw for FIFA World Cup 2022™ to take place on 19 August". FIFA.com. 12 August 2020.
  10. "Draw procedures confirmed for First Round of Concacaf Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF.com. 12 August 2020.
  11. "Concacaf preliminary draw for FIFA World Cup 2022™ to take place on 19 August". FIFA.com. 12 August 2020.
  12. "Draw to determine schedule for Final Round of Concacaf Qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF.com. 12 August 2020.
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