CONCACAF announces schedule for third round of World Cup qualifying

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) announced today the schedule of matches for the third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying in the region, starting next June. 

In the upcoming round (also known as the semifinal round), winners of the six second round groups (El Salvador, Guyana, Panama, Canada, Guatemala and Antigua & Barbuda) join six teams that have thus far received byes (Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and the United States) to form three groups of four teams apiece. 

Matchday 1 opens on Friday, June 8, highlighted by a Group A pairing between the USA, the nation with largest population in the confederation, and Antigua & Barbuda, which at approximately 88,000 inhabitants has the smallest population of any country remaining in the competition. 

Group B is led by 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup champion Mexico and is expected to be highly competitive.  A game between El Salvador and Costa Rica on Matchday 5 could decide the group’s fate. 

Honduras, which qualified for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa along with the USA and Mexico, heads Group C.  The current Central American champion starts play on June 8 at home against regional-rival Panama. 

Matchdays 3 and 4 promise much excitement, as the top seeds from each group will meet each other on both days in a home-and-home series. 

Times and locations for all matches will be confirmed at a later date. 

The top two teams from each of semifinal groups will advance to round four of qualifying – commonly known as the “hexagonal”. 

Three teams from CONCACAF are guaranteed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with the fourth-placed team from the hexagonal facing off against the Oceania winner. 

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying – Round Three 

Group A 
United States 
Jamaica 
Guatemala 
Antigua & Barbuda 

Group B 
Mexico 
Costa Rica 
El Salvador 
Guyana 

Group C 
Honduras 
Cuba 
Canada 
Panama 

SCHEDULE OF MATCHES 
(home team listed first) 

MATCHDAY 1 
Friday, June 8, 2012 

Group A 
United States vs. Antigua & Barbuda 
Jamaica vs. Guatemala 

Group B 
Mexico vs. Guyana 
Costa Rica vs. El Salvador 

Group C 
Honduras vs. Panama 
Cuba vs. Canada 

MATCHDAY 2 
Tuesday, June 12, 2012 

Group A 
Guatemala vs. United States 
Antigua & Barbuda vs. Jamaica 

Group B 
El Salvador vs. Mexico 
Guyana vs. Costa Rica 

Group C 
Canada vs. Honduras 
Panama vs. Cuba 

MATCHDAY 3 
Friday, September 7, 2012 

Group A 
Jamaica vs. United States 
Guatemala vs. Antigua & Barbuda 

Group B 
Costa Rica vs. Mexico 
El Salvador vs. Guyana 

Group C 
Cuba vs. Honduras 
Canada vs. Panama 

MATCHDAY 4 
Tuesday, September 11, 2012 

Group A 
United States vs. Jamaica 
Antigua and Barbuda vs. Guatemala 

Group B 
Mexico vs. Costa Rica 
Guyana vs. El Salvador 

Group C 
Honduras vs. Cuba 
Panama vs. Canada 

MATCHDAY 5 
Friday, October 12, 2012 

Group A 
Guatemala vs. Jamaica 
Antigua & Barbuda vs. United States 

Group B 
El Salvador vs. Costa Rica 
Guyana vs. Mexico 

Group C 
Canada vs. Cuba 
Panama vs. Honduras 

MATCHDAY 6 
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 

Group A 
United States vs. Guatemala 
Jamaica vs. Antigua & Barbuda 

Group B 
Mexico vs. El Salvador 
Costa Rica vs. Guyana 

Group C 
Honduras vs. Canada 
Cuba vs. Panama