2014 World Cup Qualifying: CONCACAF Third Round Groups Set; Schedule Released

For those who missed it, the second round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers wrapped up yesterday with little fanfare, as the 6 tickets to the third round had already been punched over the weekend.

Guyana surprised some by beating out Trinidad and Tobago, who continue a sad decline following their run to the World Cup in 2006, while USSD faves Antigua and Barbuda found a late winner to eliminate Haiti and advance. Both teams showed well in the Caribbean Cup last winter and have managed to continue that momentum with solid qualifying campaigns. Though the next round will undoubtedly be a whole different animal, these two minnows are a couple of the best stories of CONCACAF qualification thus far.

Elsewhere, it was the big boys moving on rather comfortably, as El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, and Canada cruised to the next round.


The third round groups are now set (where the second winners would advance to was determined in the qualifying draw in July), with CONCACAF announcing today the match schedules to go with them.

Take a look below, and start planning your trips:


Group A
USA
Jamaica
Guatemala
Antigua and Barbuda

Match Schedule (home team listed first)
June 8: USMNT v. Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica v. Guatemala
June 12: Guatemala v. USMNT, Antigua and Barbuda v. Jamaica
Sept 7: Jamaica v. USMNT, Guatemala v. Antigua and Barbuda
Sept 11: USMNT v. Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda v. Guatemala
Oct 12: Guatemala v. Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda v. USMNT
Oct 16: USMNT v. Guatemala, Jamaica v. Antigua and Barbuda


Group B
Mexico
Guyana
El Salvador
Costa Rica

Match Schedule (home team listed first)
June 8: Mexico v. Guyana, Costa Rica v. El Salvador
June 12: El Salvador v. Mexico, Guyana v. Costa Rica
Sept 7: Costa Rica v. Mexico, El Salvador v. Guyana
Sept 11: Mexico v. Costa Rica, Guyana v. El Salvador
Oct 12: El Salvador v. Costa Rica, Guyana v. Mexico
Oct 16: Mexico v. El Salvador, Costa Rica v. Guyana


Group C
Honduras
Panama
Canada
Cuba

Match Schedule (home team listed first)
June 8: Honduras v. Panama, Cuba v. Canada
June 12: Canada v. Honduras, Panama v. Cuba
Sept 7: Cuba v. Honduras, Canada v. Panama
Sept 11: Honduras v. Cuba, Panama v. Canada
Oct 12: Canada v. Cuba, Panama v. Honduras
Oct 16: Honduras v. Canada, Cuba v. Panama


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So the USMNT will kick things off with what will almost certainly be its easiest match of the third round: at home against Antigua and Barbuda. The stretch that follows that will be the critical one, though, with back-to-back road games against Guatemala and Jamaica, respectively. While neither team quite has the quality that the US does, both have been tricky road opponents in qualifying in the past and are more than capable of causing some problems with home field advantage.

Also of note, the Yanks will play on September 11th, which should make for quite the spectacle as they represent the country on the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Appropriately enough, it comes against Jamaica, who were the team that the US defeated to clinch a spot in the 2002 World Cup just weeks following 9/11 and on the same day that the US began the bombing of Afghanistan. Brian Straus of the Sporting News recounts that fateful match and all the emotion that surrounded it in this fantastic piece.

Venues for the US qualifiers are still not known and will presumably be announced at a later date.

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Get pumped for qualifiers, folks; they're just around the corner. And start booking those trips; I have a feeling Antigua would be pretty nice in October...