A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF first group phase on MON 14-TUE 15 NOV 2011. more...

A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF first group phase on TUE 11 OCT 2011. more...

A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF first group phase on FRI 07 OCT 2011. more...

The Bahamas have withdrawn from CONCACAF’s qualifiers for Brazil 2014, citing issues at the rebuilt national stadium in Nassau. Though they began their campaign brightly by defeating the Turks-Caicos Is in their preliminary round series, they are now pulling out of first phase group C, which will continue with only Panama, Dominica, and Nicaragua. According to reports, the new Thomas Robinson Stadium is complete but is unusable because it is still missing external interfaces such as access roads and sewage lines.

The qualifying draw for Brazil 2014 set the first group phase and semifinal round of CONCACAF qualifiers, and the road will steepen quickly. For El Salvador, a relatively easy first phase looms, with Suriname the toughest test in Group A. But if they advance, they meet Mexico and Costa Rica in semifinal group B, and likely Trinidad-Tobago from first phase group B. Two teams from each semifinal group reach the final round, where the top three qualify and the fourth meets the OFC winner in the playoffs. more...

At the qualifying draw for Brazil 2014, the draw for the CONCACAF first group phase and semifinal round will be made. The five winners in the preliminary round – Belize, Dominican Rep, US Virgin Is, St Lucia, and Bahamas – have been assigned to the lowest pot. The six groups of the first group phase will be allocated one team from each of Pots 4-7. Then, to draw the semifinal round, the three groups will each take one team from Pot 1, one from Pot 2, and two of the first group phase winners’ slots from Pot 3. more...

Some changes have been made to the opening rounds of CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2014 Men’s World Cup. Instead of an opening round involving all 35 member nations, there will now be a preliminary round in which the ten lowest ranked teams play off for five places in the first group phase. Here, six groups of four teams each are formed, and the group winners proceed. These teams, plus six other teams that received byes, enter the semifinal round. From then on, the qualifying campaign proceeds as normal. The top two teams in each of the three semifinal groups advance to the final round, a single group from which the top three qualify and the fourth placed team enters the playoffs. more...