The path of the US men’s national team to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar became clearer on Monday after Concacaf announced a revised qualification format in which the US will participate in an expanded final round. of eight World Cup qualifying teams.
The 14-game “Octagonal” will take place from June 2021 to March 2022, with the top three teams automatically qualifying for Qatar and the fourth-place finalist will enter an intercontinental playoff to be played during the June FIFA international window from 2022.
“It is good that we are clear about format and scheduling, which allows us to chart the course ahead,” said USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter. “We are looking forward to the challenge this new World Cup Qualification format will present. We have a busy 2021 that gives us the opportunity to compete for trophies and also take a big step towards qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. “
Originally, the USMNT was slated to begin its journey to Qatar with the traditional “Hexagonal” final round this September, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of a series of FIFA international windows, throwing a key at plans to Concacaf to send the first six. teams according to the June FIFA Ranking directly in the Hex.
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2022 FIFA World Cup Schedule Ranking / Nations League / Concacaf Gold Cup Schedule |
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dates |
Competition |
Notes |
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October-November 2020 |
WCQ round one |
6 groups of 5 teams; The group winners advance to Phase Two |
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March 2021 |
WCQ round two |
6 group winners tied with each other in round trip playoffs; The winners advance to “Octagonal” |
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March 2021 |
Concacaf Nations League Semifinals and Finals 2019-20 |
United States against Honduras, |
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June 2021-March 2022 |
WCQQ Final Round “Octagonal” |
14 games to play (7 at home, 7 away); The top three teams qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup |
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July 10-August 1, 2021 |
2021 Concacaf Gold Cup |
– |
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April 2022 |
2022 FIFA World Cup Draw |
– |
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June 2022 |
WCQ Intercontinental Playoff |
Fourth place faces a tiebreaker at home and away with the team from another region |
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June 2022 |
2022-23 Concacaf Nations League begins |
– |
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November 21-December 18, 2022 |
2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar |
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Given the circumstances, the new format is a kind of compromise. Five of those six countries, Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Honduras, would not have changed regardless of their results in the international windows of March and June. El Salvador, Canada, and a few other nations would still have had the opportunity to reach the Hex.
Under the new format, a two-round competition will be held to determine the three final teams that will make up the “Octagonal”. The first phase will include the remaining 30 Concacaf nations in six groups of five teams, with each team playing four matches, two at home and two away, during FIFA’s international windows in October and November 2020. The next six nations best ranked according to the July FIFA Ranking: El Salvador, Canada, Curaçao, Panama, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago, will be placed in Groups AF, respectively, with a draw to determine the remaining composition of each. group.
The group’s six winners will advance to the second phase of the home and away playoffs during the FIFA window of March 2021. The matches will be as follows: Group A vs. Group F, Group B vs. Group E and Group C vs. Group D. The three winners of those series will advance to the final “Octagonal” round that will begin in June 2021.
CLOCK: New classification format for the Concacaf World Cup explained
From there, the format will be similar to the old “Hexagonal”, with the only difference being the number of games each team will play, 14 instead of 10, with seven at home and seven away. Matches will be played in the FIFA Double Match Window in June 2021 and will continue in the FIFA Match Windows for September, October, November 2021, and January and March 2022.
The top three teams will automatically qualify for Qatar, and the fourth-place team will advance to the intercontinental playoffs in June 2022.
Concacaf also announced updates for the Nations League and the Gold Cup:
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The 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League semi-finals and finals will be played during the FIFA international window in March 2021. The United States will face Honduras, while Mexico will face Costa Rica in the semi-finals, with the winners playing for the inaugural League of Nations crown and third-place losers at a site or sites to be determined.
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The Confederation also announced that the next iteration of the League of Nations will begin in June 2022 and conclude with the Concacaf 2022/23 League of Nations Finals in March 2023.
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Additionally, it was announced that the Concacaf 2021 Gold Cup will now take place from July 10 to August 1, 2021. The United States is among 12 of the 16 participants who have already qualified for the next Goal Cup through the League. of Nations Concacaf 2019-20, but due to window cancellations caused by COVID-19, the Confederation announced a change in the rating format to fill the remaining four spots.
While the details have not yet been finalized, Concacaf indicated that the eight teams that are still alive in the Gold Cup race will participate in a centralized pre-tournament in the United States before the final competition.
