ZURICH, Switzerland, CMC – Caribbean Soccer Union No. 1 Jamaica will headline Group E within the second spherical of Concacaf qualifiers for the 2026 Fifa World Cup that Canada, Mexico, and the US will collectively host.
Concacaf introduced the draw for the qualifiers on Thursday on the house of the game’s world governing physique, Fifa, within the Swiss metropolis of Zurich, revealing the teams for the second spherical of qualification for the worldwide showpiece.
The Jamaicans will face Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Dominica, and the winner of the first-round match-up between the British Virgin Islands and the US Virgin Islands, which can happen in March 2024.
The Reggae Boyz, underneath the steerage of Brazilian coach René Simões, have been the primary English-speaking Caribbean group to play within the World Cup after they certified for the 1998 match in France, the place they completed third of their first-round group between three-time champions Argentina and European common, Croatia.
The Jamaicans have but to qualify for the match since then. Nonetheless, the supply of a number of gamers who’re common begins within the English Premier League, in addition to Main League Soccer and the United Soccer League in the US, offers them the expertise base to finish that drought within the subsequent two years.
Concacaf No. 4 Trinidad & Tobago, the one different English-speaking CFU group to play within the World Cup, will function in Group B of the second spherical of Concacaf qualification, which is headlined by Costa Rica and contains Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis, and minnows Bahamas.
Group A will comprise Honduras, Antigua & Barbuda, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Cuba, whereas Group C contains CFU No. 2 Haiti, Aruba, Barbados, Curaçao, and St Lucia.
Guyana, which earned promotion to the highest flight of the Concacaf Nations League final 12 months, will likely be a part of Group D, which is headlined by Concacaf No. 3 Panama, in addition to Belize, Montserrat, and Nicaragua, whereas Group F will carry collectively El Salvador, Puerto Rico, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and the winner of the first-round match-up between Turks & Caicos Islands and Anguilla.
As a result of Canada, Mexico, and the US are joint hosts of the World Cup, they’re exempt from the Concacaf qualifiers and have direct qualification for the match – and the opposite 30 groups within the confederation will contest the second spherical.
The primary spherical of World Cup qualification for Concacaf groups will happen in March this 12 months between the 4 lowest-ranked groups – BVI, USVI, TCI, and Anguilla – primarily based on the Fifa males’s rankings as of December final 12 months.
Within the second spherical, the groups will play single round-robin matches (two house and two away), with the six group winners and 6 group runners-up advancing to the 12-team third spherical of qualification.
The second spherical of qualifiers will likely be performed over two match days in June this 12 months and one other two in June subsequent 12 months.
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