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
Matchday 13 of 14
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:
- Goal difference in all group matches
- Most goals scored in all group matches
- Most points obtained from group matches between teams concerned
- Goal difference from group matches between teams concerned
- Most goals scored in group matches between teams concerned
- Goals scored away from home (if two teams tied)
- Discipline points (based on yellow/red cards)
- Drawing of lots by FIFA
The Qatar World Cup will be played from Nov. 21 to Dec. 18, 2022.
