The third round of CONCACAF matches for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, nicknamed the Octagonal (for the eight teams participating),[1] was played from September 2021 to March 2022.[2] Canada (qualifying for the first time since 1986), Mexico, and the United States qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Costa Rica advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs. Panama, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Honduras were eliminated in this round.
The match on 16 November 2021 between Canada and Mexico, held in Edmonton, marked the coldest match played in Mexican football history, kicking off at −9 °C (16 °F) with a heavy snowstorm the day before.[3][4] The match was seen by 2.1 million viewers in the United States on the day of its original broadcast, becoming Telemundo's most-watched sporting event since the 2019 Copa América final.[5]
Format
editEight teams (CONCACAF teams ranked 1 to 5 based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020, and the three winners of the second round) played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format for a total of 14 matches per team. The top three teams qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while the fourth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs in Qatar.[6][7][8]
Schedule
editThe third round was originally scheduled to begin in June 2021, but was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The full schedule for the third round was announced on 16 June 2021,[10] and confirmed on 9 August 2021.[11]
| Matchday | Dates | Matches | Original dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | 2 September 2021 | 1 v 2, 3 v 4, 5 v 6, 7 v 8 | June 2021 |
| Matchday 2 | 5 September 2021 | 4 v 1, 3 v 2, 6 v 7, 8 v 5 | |
| Matchday 3 | 8 September 2021 | 1 v 3, 2 v 4, 5 v 7, 6 v 8 | |
| Matchday 4 | 7 October 2021 | 7 v 1, 2 v 6, 3 v 5, 4 v 8 | |
| Matchday 5 | 10 October 2021 | 8 v 1, 7 v 2, 6 v 3, 5 v 4 | September 2021 |
| Matchday 6 | 13 October 2021 | 1 v 5, 2 v 8, 3 v 7, 4 v 6 | |
| Matchday 7 | 12 November 2021 | 1 v 6, 2 v 5, 3 v 8, 4 v 7 | October 2021 |
| Matchday 8 | 16 November 2021 | 1 v 7, 6 v 2, 5 v 3, 8 v 4 | |
| Matchday 9 | 27 January 2022 | 2 v 1, 4 v 3, 6 v 5, 8 v 7 | November 2021 |
| Matchday 10 | 30 January 2022 | 1 v 4, 2 v 3, 7 v 6, 5 v 8 | |
| Matchday 11 | 2 February 2022 | 3 v 1, 4 v 2, 7 v 5, 8 v 6 | January 2022 |
| Matchday 12 | 24 March 2022 | 6 v 1, 5 v 2, 8 v 3, 7 v 4 | |
| Matchday 13 | 27 March 2022 | 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6, 4 v 5 | March 2022 |
| Matchday 14 | 30 March 2022 | 5 v 1, 8 v 2, 7 v 3, 6 v 4 |
Qualified teams
editThe top five teams based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020 (shown in parentheses) received a bye to the third round.[12] For consistency, the three winners of the second round are shown with their FIFA rankings as of July 2020.[12]
| Bye to third round | Second round winners |
|---|---|
|
|
Draw
editThe draw for the third round was held, along with the draw for the first round, on 19 August 2020, 19:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.[13]
Teams were drawn from a single pot, and then were allocated a position (from 1 to 8) to determine the match schedule. The identity of the three second round winners was not known at the time of the draw.[14]
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Costa Rica advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
| Draw position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada [a] |
| 2 |  Honduras |
| 3 |  El Salvador [a] |
| 4 |  United States |
| 5 |  Panama [a] |
| 6 |  Costa Rica |
| 7 |  Mexico |
| 8 |  Jamaica |
Standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | | |  | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 7 | +16 | 28 | 2022 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | |
| 2 | Mexico | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 8 | +9 | 28 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 3 | United States | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 21 | 10 | +11 | 25 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | ||
| 4 | Costa Rica | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 25 | Inter-confederation play-offs | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| 5 | Panama | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 21 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | ||
| 6 | Jamaica | 14 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 22 | −10 | 11 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–1 | 2–1 | ||
| 7 | El Salvador | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 18 | −10 | 10 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–0 | ||
| 8 | Honduras | 14 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 7 | 26 | −19 | 4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — |
Matches
editMatchday 1
edit
Matchday 2
editMatchday 3
edit| Honduras | 1–4 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONCACAF) |
|
Matchday 4
edit| United States | 2–0 | Jamaica |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONCACAF) |
Matchday 5
edit| Mexico | 3–0 | Honduras |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONCACAF) |
Matchday 6
editMatchday 7
editMatchday 8
edit| Canada | 2–1 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONCACAF) |
|
Matchday 9
editMatchday 10
editMatchday 11
editMatchday 12
editMatchday 13
edit| Honduras | 0–1 | Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Report (FIFA) Report (CONCACAF) |
|
Matchday 14
editStatistics
editGoalscorers
editThere were 118 goals scored in 56 matches, for an average of 2.11 goals per match.
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Sam Adekugbe- Alphonso Davies
- Junior Hoilett
- Jonathan Osorio
Óscar Duarte- Keysher Fuller
- Jimmy Marín
- Gerson Torres
- Juan Pablo Vargas
Nelson Bonilla- Darwin Cerén
- Cristian Gil
- Enrico Hernández
- Alex Roldan
- Eriq Zavaleta
Alberth Elis- Alexander López
- Kevin López
- Romell Quioto
- Ángel Tejeda
Leon Bailey- Oniel Fisher
- Daniel Johnson
- Ravel Morrison
- Kemar Roofe
Edson Álvarez- Uriel Antuna
- Sebastián Córdova
- Jesús Corona
- Rogelio Funes Mori
- Héctor Herrera
- Hirving Lozano
- Héctor Moreno
- Orbelín Pineda
- Jorge Sánchez
Andrés Andrade- Azmahar Ariano
- Freddy Góndola
- Gabriel Torres
- César Yanis
Paul Arriola- Sergiño Dest
- Jesús Ferreira
- Sebastian Lletget
- Timothy Weah
- Walker Zimmerman
1 own goal
- Leonel Moreira (against United States)
- Denil Maldonado (against Canada)
- Javain Brown (against Panama)
- Adrian Mariappa (against Canada)
- Michael Amir Murillo (against Canada)
Awards
edit- Best XI
CONCACAF announced the following squad as the best eleven of the third round of qualifying after the conclusion of the campaign.[24]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keylor Navas | César Montes Francisco Calvo Walker Zimmerman | Christian Pulisic Edson Álvarez Stephen Eustáquio Héctor Herrera | Joel Campbell Cyle Larin Jonathan David |
Notes
edit- ^ a b c Identity of the team unknown at the time of the draw.
- ^ The Panama v Mexico match was originally scheduled on 8 September 2021, 20:05 local time,[11] but was re-scheduled to 19:05 local time since Panama maintained a midnight curfew as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]
- ^ Referee Jair Marrufo from United States, who was originally assigned to the Jamaica v Costa Rica match,[18] was replaced by Marco Ortíz from Mexico.[19]
- ^ The Jamaica v El Salvador match was originally scheduled on 24 September 2021, 19:00 local time,[20] but was rescheduled to 18:05 local time.[21]
References
edit- ^ Creditor, Avi (1 September 2021). "The Favorites, Potential Pitfalls and Features of Concacaf's World Cup Qualifying Octagonal". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Draw to determine schedule for Final Round of CONCACAF Qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ "The Iceteca: Canada beats Mexico 2-1 in Edmonton chill". Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
- ^ "Sources: Canada loss Mexico's coldest on record". ESPN.com. 17 November 2021.
- ^ Haring, Bruce (17 November 2021). "Telemundo Deportes' Canada Vs. Mexico World Cup Match Is Its Most-Watched Sporting Event in Two Years". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ "New CONCACAF Qualifiers announced for regional qualification to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "European and intercontinental play-off draw results and reaction". FIFA. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ Allen, William (26 November 2021). "2022 World Cup inter-confederation play-off draw: fixtures and format". as.com. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Eight teams confirmed for Final Round of Concacaf WCQ". CONCACAF. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Concacaf and FIFA confirm schedule for region's Final Round of World Cup Qualifying". CONCACAF. 9 August 2021.
- ^ a b "FIFA Men's Ranking – July 2020 (CONCACAF)". FIFA.com. 16 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020.
- ^ "CONCACAF preliminary draw for FIFA World Cup 2022 to take place on 19 August". FIFA. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "FIFA World Cup 2022 Preliminary Draw (CONCACAF): Draw procedures" (PDF). FIFA. 12 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "Mexico hit with FIFA fan ban at two home World Cup qualifiers". Reuters. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
- ^ "FIFA reduces penalty on Mexico for anti-gay chants at games". Associated Press. 25 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ Yu, Kevin (7 September 2021). "El Panamá vs. México del Octagonal Final cambia de horario" (in Spanish). TUDN.
- ^ "January WCQ concludes with U.S., Mexico seeking home wins". CONCACAF. 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Cambios en Designaciones Arbitrales Internacionales: Eliminatoria Mundialista de la Concacaf". arbitraje.fmf.mx (in Spanish). Mexican Football Federation. 29 January 2022.
- ^ "Concacaf and FIFA confirm schedule for the region's final matches of men's World Cup Qualifying". CONCACAF. 18 February 2022.
- ^ Valiente, Josue (7 March 2022). "Confirman cambio de hora para el Jamaica-El Salvador" [Kick-off time change confirmed for Jamaica-El Salvador] (in Spanish). El Gráfico.
- ^ "Canada returns to Toronto for all-important FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match on 27 March". Canada Soccer. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ "USMNT Makes Choice for Last Home World Cup Qualifier". U.S. Soccer. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
- ^ "Navas, Larin star in Concacaf WCQ Best XI". CONCACAF. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.