2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF first round

The first round of CONCACAF matches for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification was played in March and June 2021.[1]

Format

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A total of 30 teams (CONCACAF teams ranked 6 to 35 based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020) were divided into six groups of five teams each. In each group, teams played against each other once in a single round-robin format, for a total of four matches per team (two home and two away). The top team of each of the six groups advanced to the second round.[2]

Seeding

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The draw for the first round was held, along with the draw for the third round, on 19 August 2020, 19:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.[3]

The seeding was based on the FIFA World Rankings of July 2020 (shown in parentheses). Teams in Pot 1 were pre-seeded to positions A1 to F1 based on their ranking (A1 as the highest-ranked team in Pot 1, and F1 as the lowest-ranked in Pot 1). The remaining teams were drawn by pot into the first available group alphabetically. Each team was assigned the position in their group based on their pot number (Pot 2 was placed in position 2, Pot 3 was placed in position 3).[4]

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.

Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4 Pot 5
  1.   El Salvador (69)
  2.   Canada (73)
  3.   Curaçao (80)
  4.   Panama (81)
  5.   Haiti (86)
  6.   Trinidad and Tobago (105)
  1.   Antigua and Barbuda (126)
  2.   Guatemala (130)
  3.   Saint Kitts and Nevis (139)
  4.   Suriname (141)
  5.   Nicaragua (151)
  6.   Dominican Republic (158)
  1.   Grenada (159)
  2.   Barbados (162)
  3.   Guyana (166)
  4.   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (167)
  5.   Bermuda (168)
  6.   Belize (170)
  1.   Saint Lucia (176)[a]
  2.   Puerto Rico (178)
  3.   Cuba (179)
  4.   Montserrat (183)
  5.   Dominica (184)
  6.   Cayman Islands (193)
  1.   Bahamas (195)
  2.   Aruba (200)
  3.   Turks and Caicos Islands (203)
  4.   U.S. Virgin Islands (207)
  5.   British Virgin Islands (208)
  6.   Anguilla (210)
  1. ^ Saint Lucia were drawn into Group E in the first round, but later withdrew before their first match.[5]

Schedule

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The matches were originally scheduled for 7–13 October and 11–17 November 2020. However, CONCACAF announced on 8 September 2020 that the matches would be postponed, and would not begin until March 2021.[6][7] The schedule for the March 2021 matches was announced on 26 February 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America and related quarantine and travel restrictions in certain countries, some matches took place at neutral venues.[8][9]

Match Original date Revised date
2 v 4 7 October 2020 24 March 2021
1 v 3 8 October 2020 25 March 2021
5 v 2 10 October 2020 27 March 2021
4 v 1 11 October 2020 28–29 March 2021
3 v 5 13 October 2020 30 March 2021
4 v 5 11 November 2020 2 June 2021
2 v 3 13 November 2020 4 June 2021
5 v 1 14 November 2020 5 June 2021
3 v 4 17 November 2020 8 June 2021
1 v 2

Groups

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Group A

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   El Salvador 4 3 1 0 13 1 +12 10 Advance to second round 3–0 2–0
2   Montserrat 4 2 2 0 9 4 +5 8 1–1 4–0
3   Antigua and Barbuda 4 2 1 1 6 5 +1 7 2–2 1–0
4   Grenada 4 1 0 3 2 5 −3 3 1–2 1–0
5   U.S. Virgin Islands 4 0 0 4 0 15 −15 0 0–7 0–3
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Antigua and Barbuda  2–2  Montserrat
  • Kirwan   23'
  • Bishop   45'
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Melvin Orlando Matamoros (Honduras)
El Salvador  2–0  Grenada
Report
Attendance: 250
Referee: Kimbell Ward (St. Kitts and Nevis)

U.S. Virgin Islands  0–3  Antigua and Barbuda
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Trevester Richards (St. Kitts and Nevis)
Montserrat  1–1  El Salvador
Report
Attendance: 0

Grenada  1–0  U.S. Virgin Islands
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Sherwin Johnson (Guyana)

Montserrat  4–0  U.S. Virgin Islands
Report
Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal (Dominican Republic)
Attendance: 0
Referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras)

Antigua and Barbuda  1–0  Grenada
Report
Attendance: 400
Referee: Francia González (Mexico)
U.S. Virgin Islands  0–7  El Salvador
Report
Attendance: 150
Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)

Grenada  1–2  Montserrat
Report
Attendance: 50
Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)
El Salvador  3–0  Antigua and Barbuda
Report
Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)

Group B

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Canada 4 4 0 0 27 1 +26 12 Advance to second round 4–0 5–1
2   Suriname 4 3 0 1 15 4 +11 9 6–0 3–0
3   Bermuda 4 1 1 2 7 12 −5 4 5–0 1–1
4   Aruba 4 1 0 3 3 19 −16 3 0–7 0–6
5   Cayman Islands 4 0 1 3 2 18 −16 1 0–11 1–3
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Suriname  3–0  Cayman Islands
Report
Attendance: 500
Referee: Jorge Pérez (Mexico)
Canada  5–1  Bermuda
Report
Exploria Stadium, Orlando (United States)
Attendance: 0

Aruba  0–6  Suriname
Report
IMG Academy, Bradenton (United States)
Attendance: 0
Cayman Islands  0–11  Canada
Report
IMG Academy, Bradenton (United States)
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ted Unkel (United States)

Bermuda  5–0  Aruba
Report
IMG Academy, Bradenton (United States)
Attendance: 29
Referee: Jaime Herrera Bonilla (El Salvador)

Cayman Islands  1–3  Aruba
Report

Suriname  6–0  Bermuda
Report
Aruba  0–7  Canada
Report
IMG Academy, Bradenton (United States)
Attendance: 45
Referee: Marco Ortíz (Mexico)

Bermuda  1–1  Cayman Islands
Report
IMG Academy, Bradenton (United States)
Attendance: 22
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez (United States)
Canada  4–0  Suriname
Report
SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview (United States)
Attendance: 0

Group C

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Curaçao 4 3 1 0 15 1 +14 10 Advance to second round 0–0 5–0
2   Guatemala 4 3 1 0 14 0 +14 10 1–0 10–0
3   Cuba 4 2 0 2 7 3 +4 6 1–2 5–0
4   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4 1 0 3 3 16 −13 3 0–1 3–0
5   British Virgin Islands 4 0 0 4 0 19 −19 0 0–8 0–3
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Guatemala  1–0  Cuba
Report
Curaçao  5–0  Saint Vincent and the G.
Report

British Virgin Islands  0–3  Guatemala
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Oscar Moncada (Honduras)
Cuba  1–2  Curaçao
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Germán Martínez (El Salvador)

Saint Vincent and the G.  3–0  British Virgin Islands
Report
Attendance: 0

Cuba  5–0  British Virgin Islands
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: José Torres (Puerto Rico)

Guatemala  10–0  Saint Vincent and the G.
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Erick Lezama (Nicaragua)
British Virgin Islands  0–8  Curaçao
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: William Anderson (Puerto Rico)

Saint Vincent and the G.  0–1  Cuba
Report
Curaçao  0–0  Guatemala
Report

Group D

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Panama 4 4 0 0 19 1 +18 12 Advance to second round 3–0 1–0
2   Dominican Republic 4 2 1 1 8 4 +4 7 1–1 1–0
3   Barbados 4 1 2 1 3 3 0 5 1–1 1–0
4   Dominica 4 1 1 2 5 4 +1 4 1–2 3–0
5   Anguilla 4 0 0 4 0 23 −23 0 0–13 0–6
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Dominican Republic  1–0  Dominica
Report
Panama  1–0  Barbados
Report

Anguilla  0–6  Dominican Republic
Report
Referee: Rubiel Vázquez (United States)
Dominica  1–2  Panama
  • Laville   82'
Report
Attendance: 1,500
Referee: Marco Ortíz (Mexico)

Barbados  1–0  Anguilla
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Diego Montaño Robles (Mexico)

Dominica  3–0  Anguilla
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Kimbell Ward (Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Dominican Republic  1–1  Barbados
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Germán Martínez (El Salvador)
Anguilla  0–13  Panama
Report
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Sergio Reyna (Guatemala)

Barbados  1–1  Dominica
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Jaime Herrera Bonilla (El Salvador)
Panama  3–0  Dominican Republic
Report

Group E

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Haiti 3 3 0 0 13 0 +13 9 Advance to second round 1–0 2–0
2   Nicaragua 3 2 0 1 10 1 +9 6 3–0
3   Belize 3 1 0 2 5 5 0 3 5–0
4   Turks and Caicos Islands 3 0 0 3 0 22 −22 0 0–10 0–7
5   Saint Lucia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Withdrew
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Saint Lucia withdrew before playing.

Haiti  2–0  Belize
Report
Turks and Caicos Islands  0–7  Nicaragua
Report
Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal (Dominican Republic)
Referee: William Anderson (Puerto Rico)

Belize  5–0  Turks and Caicos Islands
Report
Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal (Dominican Republic)
Attendance: 0

Nicaragua  3–0  Belize
Report
Attendance: 13,000
Referee: Nelson Salgado (Honduras)
Turks and Caicos Islands  0–10  Haiti
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Diego Montaño Robles (Mexico)

Haiti  1–0  Nicaragua
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Kevin Morrison (Jamaica)

Group F

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification          
1   Saint Kitts and Nevis 4 3 0 1 8 2 +6 9 Advance to second round 1–0 3–0
2   Trinidad and Tobago 4 2 2 0 6 1 +5 8 2–0 3–0
3   Puerto Rico 4 2 1 1 10 2 +8 7 1–1 7–0
4   Guyana 4 1 0 3 4 8 −4 3 0–2 4–0
5   Bahamas 4 0 1 3 0 15 −15 1 0–4 0–0
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Saint Kitts and Nevis  1–0  Puerto Rico
Report
Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal (Dominican Republic)
Referee: Randy Encarnación (Dominican Republic)
Trinidad and Tobago  3–0  Guyana
Report
Estadio Panamericano, San Cristóbal (Dominican Republic)
Attendance: 70
Referee: Marco Ortíz (Mexico)

Bahamas  0–4  Saint Kitts and Nevis
Report
Referee: Óscar Macías Romo (Mexico)
Puerto Rico  1–1  Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Adonai Escobedo (Mexico)

Guyana  4–0  Bahamas
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Sergio Reyna (Guatemala)

Puerto Rico  7–0  Bahamas
Report

Saint Kitts and Nevis  3–0  Guyana
Report
Bahamas  0–0  Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Oliver Vergara (Panama)

Guyana  0–2  Puerto Rico
Report
Warner Park, Basseterre (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Attendance: 0
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (El Salvador)
Trinidad and Tobago  2–0  Saint Kitts and Nevis
Report
Attendance: 0
Referee: Randy Encarnación (Dominican Republic)

Goalscorers

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There were 214 goals scored in 56 matches, for an average of 3.82 goals per match.

6 goals

5 goals

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Notes

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  1. ^ The Cayman Islands vs Canada match, originally to be played at 16:00 UTC−4, 28 March 2021, was postponed because the Cayman team could not provide their negative COVID-19 tests to FIFA.[10]
  2. ^ The Bermuda v Cayman Islands match, originally to be played at 20:00 UTC-4, was delayed by 65 minutes due to lightning in the area.[11][non-primary source needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Draw procedures confirmed for First Round of Concacaf Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  2. ^ "New CONCACAF Qualifiers announced for regional qualification to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  3. ^ "CONCACAF preliminary draw for FIFA World Cup 2022 to take place on 19 August". FIFA. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  4. ^ "FIFA World Cup 2022 Preliminary Draw (CONCACAF): Draw procedures" (PDF). FIFA. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  5. ^ "St Lucia players in the dark about World Cup qualifiers". SportsMax. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  6. ^ "CONCACAF confirms schedule for Concacaf Qualifiers for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF. 4 December 2020. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Update on the CONCACAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF. 8 September 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Update on upcoming CONCACAF qualifiers in March 2021". FIFA. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  9. ^ "CONCACAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022" (PDF). FIFA. 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  10. ^ "Canada's World Cup qualifying game vs. Cayman Islands postponed". Sportsnet. 28 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  11. ^ "The match is now expected to kick-off at 10:05pm". 8 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021 – via Twitter.
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