With one game left to go in the October window of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, it’s Mexico and the USA atop the standings. But the chasing teams are right behind them.
Panama’s 1-0 win over the USA, the nation’s first-ever qualifying victory over the Americans, have the Canaleros tied with the USA on eight points. The Panamanians hit the road to take on Canada on Wednesday in a battle of No. 3 vs. No. 4 in the standings.
Canada picked up yet another draw — it’s now four ties in five matches — though John Herdman’s side probably deserved to win the match in Jamaica. But it couldn’t convert on its chances and settled for a 0-0 draw against the last-place Reggae Boyz. A home win against a direct competitor like Panama will be imperative for Canada in Matchday 6.
With its back to the wall, Costa Rica came up with a come-from-behind home win against El Salvador to get itself back into the qualifying conversation. The real test will come on Wednesday against the USA. It was the Ticos who dealt the Americans a costly home loss during the last cycle of qualifying.
The top three teams earn a direct berth to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, while the fourth-place team advances to an intercontinental playoff. The first standings tiebreakers are (1) goal difference, (2) goals scored and (3) most points obtained from matches between teams that are tied. The full list of tiebreakers follows below.
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Standings & Results
| Team |
PTS |
GP |
W |
L |
D |
GF |
GA |
GD |
| 1. Mexico |
11 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
3 |
+5 |
| 2. USA |
8 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
7 |
3 |
+4 |
| 3. Panama |
8 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
2 |
+3 |
| 4. Canada |
7 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
6 |
3 |
+3 |
| 5. Costa Rica |
6 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
| 6. El Salvador |
5 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
-3 |
| 7. Honduras |
3 |
5 |
0 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
8 |
-6 |
| 8. Jamaica |
2 |
5 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
-6 |
Matchday 4
| 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
| 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
| Date |
Match |
Time (ET) |
TV Channels |
Stream |
| Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 |
USA vs. Costa Rica |
7 p.m. |
ESPN2 |
fuboTV, ESPN+ |
| Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 |
Canada vs. Panama |
7:30 p.m. |
|
Paramount+ |
| Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 |
Honduras vs. Jamaica |
8 p.m. |
|
Paramount+ |
| Wed, Oct. 13, 2021 |
El Salvador vs. Mexico |
10 p.m. |
CBSSN, Telemundo, Universo |
fuboTV, Paramount+ |
Matchday 7
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Nov. 2021 |
Canada vs. Costa Rica |
TBD |
TBD |
| Nov. 2021 |
Honduras vs. Panama |
TBD |
TBD |
| Nov. 2021 |
El Salvador vs. Jamaica |
TBD |
TBD |
| Nov. 2021 |
USA vs. Mexico |
TBD |
TBD |
Matchday 8
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Nov. 2021 |
Canada vs. Mexico |
TBD |
TBD |
| Nov. 2021 |
Costa Rica vs. Honduras |
TBD |
TBD |
| Nov. 2021 |
Panama vs. El Salvador |
TBD |
TBD |
| Nov. 2021 |
Jamaica vs. USA |
TBD |
TBD |
Matchday 9
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 |
Honduras vs. Canada |
TBD |
TBD |
| Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 |
USA vs. El Salvador |
TBD |
TBD |
| Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 |
Costa Rica vs. Panama |
TBD |
TBD |
| Thurs, Jan. 27, 2022 |
Jamaica vs. Mexico |
TBD |
TBD |
Matchday 10
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 |
Canada vs. USA |
TBD |
TBD |
| Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 |
Honduras vs. El Salvador |
TBD |
TBD |
| Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 |
Mexico vs. Costa Rica |
TBD |
TBD |
| Sun, Jan. 30, 2022 |
Panama vs. Jamaica |
TBD |
TBD |
Matchday 11
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 |
El Salvador vs. Canada |
TBD |
TBD |
| Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 |
USA vs. Honduras |
TBD |
TBD |
| Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 |
Mexico vs. Panama |
TBD |
TBD |
| Wed, Feb. 2, 2022 |
Jamaica vs. Costa Rica |
TBD |
TBD |
Matchday 12
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Thurs, March 24, 2022 |
Costa Rica vs. Canada |
TBD |
TBD |
| Thurs, March 24, 2022 |
Panama vs. Honduras |
TBD |
TBD |
| Thurs, March 24, 2022 |
Jamaica vs. El Salvador |
TBD |
TBD |
| Thurs, March 24, 2022 |
Mexico vs. USA |
TBD |
TBD |
Matchday 13
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Sun, March 27, 2022 |
Canada vs. Jamaica |
TBD |
TBD |
| Sun, March 27, 2022 |
Honduras vs. Mexico |
TBD |
TBD |
| Sun, March 27, 2022 |
El Salvador vs. Costa Rica |
TBD |
TBD |
| Sun, March 27, 2022 |
USA vs. Panama |
TBD |
TBD |
Matchday 14
| Date |
Match |
Time (TV channels) |
Stream |
| Wed, March 30, 2022 |
Panama vs. Canada |
TBD |
TBD |
| Wed, March 30, 2022 |
Jamaica vs. Honduras |
TBD |
TBD |
| Wed, March 30, 2022 |
Mexico vs. El Salvador |
TBD |
TBD |
| Wed, March 30, 2022 |
Costa Rica vs. USA |
TBD |
TBD |
CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying results & highlights
Matchday 1
| 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
| 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
| 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 |
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 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.