CONCACAF 2022 World Cup Qualifying: Schedule, standings, TV for soccer Octagonal

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World Cup trophy - stand

Qualification for the 2022 World Cup in the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) delivered plenty of drama and even some surprises as three direct tickets to Qatar were claimed in addition to a World Cup playoff berth for the fourth-place team.

Canada (1st, 28 points) was the first team to mathematically qualify on the penultimate day, and it also finished atop the group against all predictions. The Canadian men are going to their first World Cup since 1986.

Mexico (2nd, 28 points) and the USA (3rd, 25 points) followed suit, claiming the other two automatic berths to Qatar by finishing in second and third. The USA only made it by virtue of their superior goal difference over Costa Rica.

Costa Rica (4th, 25 points) completed an incredible comeback to lock up fourth place and the playoff berth, coming within a single result of snatching one of the automatic World Cup spots. With their qualifying campaign on life support, Los Ticos went on a sensational run of positive results in the second half of the schedule (6W-0L-1D) to book a date with New Zealand in June for a single-game showdown with a ticket to Qatar on the line.

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying standings & results

The first standings tiebreakers below were (1) goal difference, (2) goals scored, and (3) most points obtained from matches between teams that are tied.

The full list of tiebreakers and results for Matchdays 1-14 follow at the bottom of this post.

Team PTS GP W L D GF GA GD
1.* Canada-X 28 14 8 2 4 23 7 +16
2.* Mexico-X 28 14 8 2 4 17 8 +9
3.* USA-X 25 14 7 3 4 21 10 +11
4.* Costa Rica-Y 25 14 7 3 4 13 8 +5
5. Panama (E) 21 14 6 5 3 17 19 -2
6. El Salvador (E) 10 14 2 8 4 8 18 -10
7. Jamaica (E) 11 14 2 7 5 12 22 -10
8. Honduras (E) 4 14 0 10 4 7 26 -19

*The top three teams earn direct berths to Qatar 2022, while fourth place will head to an intercontinental playoff against a nation from Oceania.

X = qualified to World Cup; Y = advanced to playoff; E = Eliminated

Matchday 14 of 14

Date Match  
Wed, March 30, 2022 Panama 1, Canada 0 Highlights
Wed, March 30, 2022 Jamaica 2, Honduras 1 Highlights
Wed, March 30, 2022 Mexico 2, El Salvador 0 Highlights
Wed, March 30, 2022 Costa Rica 2, USA 0 Highlights

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying results & highlights

Matchday 1 of 14

Date Match  
Thurs, Sept. 2, 2021 Canada 1, Honduras 1 Highlights
Thurs, Sept. 2, 2021 Panama 0, Costa Rica 0 Highlights
Thurs, Sept. 2, 2021 Mexico 2, Jamaica 1 Highlights
Thurs, Sept. 2, 2021 El Salvador 0, USA 0 Highlights

Matchday 2 of 14

Date Match  
Sun, Sept. 5, 2021 Jamaica 0, Panama 3 Highlights
Sun, Sept. 5, 2021 Costa Rica 0, Mexico 1 Highlights
Sun, Sept. 5, 2021 El Salvador 0, Honduras 0 Highlights
Sun, Sept. 5, 2021 USA 1, Canada 1 Highlights

Matchday 3 of 14

Date Match  
Wed, Sept. 8, 2021 Canada 3, El Salvador 0 Highlights
Wed, Sept. 8, 2021 Panama 1, Mexico 1 Highlights
Wed, Sept. 8, 2021 Costa Rica 1, Jamaica 1 Highlights
Wed, Sept. 8, 2021 Honduras 1, USA 4 Highlights

Matchday 4 of 14

Date Match  
Thurs, Oct. 7, 2021 USA 2, Jamaica 0 Highlights
Thurs, Oct. 7, 2021 Honduras 0, Costa Rica 0 Highlights
Thurs, Oct. 7, 2021 Mexico 1, Canada 1 Highlights
Thurs, Oct. 7, 2021 El Salvador 1, Panama 0 Highlights

Matchday 5 of 14

Date Match  
Sun, Oct. 10, 2021 Panama 1, USA 0 Highlights
Sun, Oct. 10, 2021 Jamaica 0, Canada 0 Highlights
Sun, Oct. 10, 2021 Costa Rica 2, El Salvador 1 Highlights
Sun, Oct. 10, 2021 Mexico 3, Honduras 0 Highlights

Matchday 6 of 14

Date Match  
Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 USA 2, Costa Rica 1 Highlights
Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 Canada 4, Panama 1 Highlights
Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 Honduras 0, Jamaica 2 Highlights
Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 El Salvador 0, Mexico 2 Highlights

Matchday 7 of 14

Date Match  
Fri, Nov. 12, 2021 Honduras 2, Panama 3 Highlights
Fri, Nov. 12, 2021 USA 2, Mexico 0 Highlights
Fri, Nov. 12, 2021 Canada 1, Costa Rica 0 Highlights
Fri, Nov. 12, 2021 El Salvador 1, Jamaica 1 Highlights

Matchday 8 of 14

Date Match  
Tues, Nov. 16, 2021 Jamaica 1, USA 1 Highlights
Tues, Nov. 16, 2021 Costa Rica 2, Honduras 1 Highlights
Tues, Nov. 16, 2021 Panama 2, El Salvador 1 Highlights
Tues, Nov. 16, 2021 Canada 2, Mexico 1 Highlights

Matchday 9 of 14

Date Match  
Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 USA 1, El Salvador 0 Highlights
Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 Jamaica 1, Mexico 2 Highlights
Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 Honduras 0, Canada 2 Highlights
Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 Costa Rica 1, Panama 0 Highlights

Matchday 10 of 14

Date Match  
Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 Canada 2, USA 0 Highlights
Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 Panama 3, Jamaica 2 Highlights
Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 Mexico 0, Costa Rica 0 Highlights
Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 Honduras 0, El Salvador 2 Highlights

Matchday 11 of 14

Date Match  
Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 Jamaica 0, Costa Rica 1 Highlights
Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 USA 3, Honduras 0 Highlights
Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 El Salvador 0, Canada 2 Highlights
Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 Mexico 1, Panama 0 Highlights

Matchday 12 of 14

Date Match  
Thurs, March 24 Jamaica 1, El Salvador 1 Highlights
Thurs, March 24 Panama 1, Honduras 1 Highlights
Thurs, March 24 Mexico 0, USA 0 Highlights
Thurs, March 24 Costa Rica 1, Canada 0 Highlights

Matchday 13 of 14

Date Match  
Sun, March 27 Canada 4, Jamaica 0 Highlights
Sun, March 27 El Salvador 1,  Costa Rica 2 Highlights
Sun, March 27 USA 5, Panama 1 Highlights
Sun, March 27 Honduras 0, Mexico 1 Highlights

How CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying works

Eight nations from the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) are competing for three automatic berths to the 2022 Qatar World Cup in the final "octagonal" qualifying round.

The eight countries are facing off in a round-robin format with each team playing the other seven opponents once at home and once on the road. The 14 total matches for each national team began in September 2021 and will wrap up in March 2022. 

The top three finishers will earn automatic berths to Qatar, while the fourth-place team will head to an intercontinental playoff  in June with a final ticket to Qatar on the line. Here are the standings tiebreakers for teams even on points:

  1. Goal difference in all group matches
  2. Most goals scored in all group matches
  3. Most points obtained from group matches between teams concerned
  4. Goal difference from group matches between teams concerned
  5. Most goals scored in group matches between teams concerned
  6. Goals scored away from home (if two teams tied)
  7. Discipline points (based on yellow/red cards)
  8. Drawing of lots by FIFA

The Qatar World Cup will be played from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18, 2022.  

Author(s)
Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor for football/soccer at The Sporting News.