The United States men's national team will open up their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign in September with a visit to El Salvador, while Mexico hosts Jamaica in their first match.
El Salvador, Canada and Panama all booked their spots on Tuesday to join the USMNT, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, and Mexico in CONCACAF's final round of qualifying for the World Cup.
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The eight teams will play each other home and away, a total of 14 matches. The top three of the Octagonal will qualify directly to Qatar, with the fourth-placed team going to the intercontinental playoff in June 2022.
The round was expanded from the six-team Hexagonal format used in previous World Cup cycles to accommodate the suspension of several international windows in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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Four of the five qualifying windows -- September 2021, October 2021, January/February 2022, and March 2022 -- will see the eight teams play three games apiece. Only in November 2021 will the teams play two matches.
Here is the Final Round calendar for the Concacaf Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022👇
— Concacaf (@Concacaf) June 16, 2021
🗓️ Reserva las fechas, el calendario de las clasificatorias de Concacaf para la Copa Mundial Catar 2022 #CWCQ pic.twitter.com/rIFXPxBsGS
After their visit to El Salvador, the USMNT will host Canada before traveling back to Central America to play Honduras.
Other marquee matches for the U.S. side will be hosting Costa Rica in October and then Mexico in November. However, the U.S. face a tough window in March 2022 with return visits to both those rivals.
The home venues for the USMNT's matches have yet to be determined.
Mexico's first three games of the Octagonal will be hosting Jamaica and then two away clashes with Costa Rica and Panama.
The U.S. failed to qualify to the 2018 World Cup in Russia after losing to Trinidad & Tobago in the final match of the qualifying round.
Before this cycle's qualifying campaign begins, all eight sides will participate in the 16-team CONCACAF Gold Cup, with group stage action beginning July 10. The final is slated for Aug. 1 at Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium.
USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter has said he would call up mostly Major League Soccer players for the Gold Cup, allowing Europe-based stars such as Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie to skip the tournament ahead of their club seasons. Those players are expected to be back in the mix for the start of the World Cup qualifying schedule.
USA WORLD CUP FIXTURES
Sept. 2: El Salvador (a)
Sept. 5: Canada (h)
Sept. 8: Honduras (a)
Oct. 7: Jamaica (h)
Oct. 10: Panama (a)
Oct. 13: Costa Rica (h)
Nov. TBD: Mexico (h)
Nov. TBD: Jamaica (a)
Jan. 27: El Salvador (h)
Jan. 30: Canada (a)
Feb. 2: Honduras (h)
March 24: Mexico (a)
March 27: Panama (h)
March 30: Costa Rica (a)
MEXICO WORLD CUP FIXTURES
Sept. 2: Jamaica (h)
Sept. 5: Costa Rica (a)
Sept. 8: Panama (a)
Oct. 7: Canada (h)
Oct. 10: Honduras (h)
Oct. 13: El Salvador (a)
Nov. TBD: United States (a)
Nov. TBD: Canada (a)
Jan. 27: Jamaica (a)
Jan. 30: Costa Rica (h)
Feb. 2: Panama (h)
March 24: United States (h)
March 27: Honduras (a)
March 30: El Salvador (h)