The race to the 2022 World Cup finals is drawing to a close, with three rounds of games to be played in March to decide which nations from the CONCACAF region will head to Qatar in November.
– World Cup 2022 qualifying: How it works around the world
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How many CONCACAF nations qualify for the World Cup?
The top three nations in CONCACAF qualify directly to the World Cup, which begins on Nov. 21 and runs through to the final on Dec. 18.
The fourth-place nation in the region will face a playoff against the winner of the Oceania region, most likely New Zealand.
The playoff will be one match only, and will be hosted by Qatar. The fixture is scheduled to be played in June.
Which nations are still in contention?
Of the eight teams in the final stage of qualifying, El Salvador, Honduras and Jamaica have been eliminated.
That leaves Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and United States still with hopes of making the finals.
What are the remaining fixtures?
March 24
Costa Rica vs. Canada
Panama vs. Honduras
Jamaica vs. El Salvador
Mexico vs. United States
March 27
Canada vs. Jamaica
Honduras vs. Mexico
El Salvador vs. Costa Rica
United States vs. Panama
March 30
Panama vs. Canada
Jamaica vs. Honduras
Mexico vs. El Salvador
Costa Rica vs. United States
How each nation can qualify
1. Canada (25 points)
Coach John Herdman is all but certain to lead Canada to only its second men’s World Cup finals. The previous appearance came in 1986, when it lost all three matches to France, Hungary and Soviet Union without scoring a goal.
Unbeaten throughout all 11 matches so far in this phase, Canada is guaranteed at least fourth and the place in the intercontinental playoff.
Canada needs a maximum of two points to qualify automatically for the World Cup, but other results are likely to see it over the line even if it doesn’t achieve…
Source : espn
