Final Round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Draw Revealed: Panama Set to Face Honduras

The draws for the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying were held in Miami, resulting in the allocation of 12 teams into three groups of four.

This draw occurred just two days after the conclusion of the previous round, featuring the top two teams from each group in the second round.

Group A sees a Central American lineup consisting of Panama, El Salvador, and Guatemala, alongside Suriname. This means that El Salvador and Suriname will face off again in both main qualifying stages, after their earlier 1-1 draw on Tuesday. La Selecta, who last made it to the final tournament in 1982, will also take on Panama in the final qualifying round for the second consecutive time.

Group B is entirely composed of Caribbean nations, led by Jamaica, who made history by participating in the World Cup finals back in 1998. Joining the Reggae Boyz are Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, and Bermuda. This guarantees that at least one Caribbean nation will feature in the final tournament for the first time since 2006, when Trinidad qualified. The Soca Warriors remain the last Caribbean team, apart from Jamaica, to reach this stage of the qualifiers, a feat they accomplished in 2010.

In Group C, there are three additional Central American sides—Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua—alongside Haiti. Les Grenadiers were the first Caribbean team to qualify for a final tournament, achieving that milestone in 1974. Costa Rica boasts the third-highest number of appearances in the final tournament among CONCACAF nations, with six previous entries. On the other hand, Nicaragua is the only team in this group that has yet to appear in the finals.

The final qualifying round will take place during the international breaks in September, October, and November, with teams playing both home and away matches against their group opponents. The winners from each group will join Canada, the United States, and Mexico in next year’s tournament. Meanwhile, the two best runner-ups will participate in intercontinental playoffs next March for the final two spots.

This marks the first occasion that CONCACAF will have at least six representatives in the same World Cup finals. Notably, five of the teams participating at this stage have never competed in the final competition before. For Suriname, Nicaragua, Curacao, and Bermuda, this is the first time they have reached the ultimate qualifying round.

Out of the 12 nations at this juncture, ten will also be competing in the Gold Cup, which kicks off on Sunday. Only Bermuda and Nicaragua missed out on that tournament.