Caribbean nations will have a fresh opportunity to play in soccer’s biggest showcase - the FIFA men’s World Cup in 2022 - following the re-organization of qualification due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Jamaica and U.S. get spots in final round qualifiers.Caribbean nations are among the 35 nations in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) which will aim at 3.5 qualification spots in the World Cup, to be staged in Qatar.
The new CONCACAF qualifiers comprise three rounds. The first round will feature 30 teams. Games will be played between the CONCACAF member associations ranked between sixth and 35th based on the FIFA rankings as of July 16.
GROUPS
The 30 nations will be drawn into six groups of five in a seeded draw. The six highest ranked teams, El Salvador, Canada, Curacao, Panama, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago will be pre-seeded into groups A to F, respectively.
Each team will play every other team in their group once - four matches total - two home and two away. These games will be played in the FIFA match windows of Oct. 2020 and Nov. 2020.
The six group winners will progress to the second round, during which the teams will play each other a single elimination - two matches, home and away - according to the following schedule: Group A winner vs. Group F winner; Group B winner vs. Group E winner; and Group C winner vs. Group D winner.
The three winners will progress to the CONCACAF final round.
FINAL ROUND
The final round will feature eight teams, the three group qualifiers plus the top five teams ranked in CONCACAF as of July 16: 1. Mexico, 2. United States, 3. Costa Rica, 4. Jamaica, and 5. Honduras.
Final round play will begin in the double FIFA match window in June 2021 and continue in FIFA match windows of September, October and November 2021, and January and March 2022.
The eight teams will play each other home and away, with each team playing 14 matches.
The top three finishers in the final round will qualify directly to the 2022 World Cup.
The fourth placed team will qualify for the FIFA intercontinental playoff, scheduled to be played in June 2022.
