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The third round of CONCACAF matches for 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification, nicknamed the Octagonal (for the eight teams participating),[1] was played from September 2021 to March 2022.[2] Canada (qualifying for the first time since 1986), Mexico, and the United States qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while Costa Rica advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs. Panama, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Honduras were eliminated in this round.
The match on 16 November 2021 between Canada and Mexico, held in Edmonton, marked the coldest match played in Mexican football history, kicking off at −9 °C (16 °F) with a heavy snowstorm the day before.[3][4] The match was seen by 2.1 million viewers in the United States on the day of its original broadcast, becoming Telemundo's most-watched sporting event since the 2019 Copa América final.[5]
Format
Eight teams (CONCACAF teams ranked 1 to 5 based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020, and the three winners of the second round) played against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format for a total of 14 matches per team. The top three teams qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while the fourth-placed team advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs in Qatar.[6][7][8]
Schedule
The third round was originally scheduled to begin in June 2021, but was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] The full schedule for the third round was announced on 16 June 2021,[10] and confirmed on 9 August 2021.[11]
| Matchday | Dates | Matches | Original dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matchday 1 | 2 September 2021 | 1 v 2, 3 v 4, 5 v 6, 7 v 8 | June 2021 |
| Matchday 2 | 5 September 2021 | 4 v 1, 3 v 2, 6 v 7, 8 v 5 | |
| Matchday 3 | 8 September 2021 | 1 v 3, 2 v 4, 5 v 7, 6 v 8 | |
| Matchday 4 | 7 October 2021 | 7 v 1, 2 v 6, 3 v 5, 4 v 8 | |
| Matchday 5 | 10 October 2021 | 8 v 1, 7 v 2, 6 v 3, 5 v 4 | September 2021 |
| Matchday 6 | 13 October 2021 | 1 v 5, 2 v 8, 3 v 7, 4 v 6 | |
| Matchday 7 | 12 November 2021 | 1 v 6, 2 v 5, 3 v 8, 4 v 7 | October 2021 |
| Matchday 8 | 16 November 2021 | 1 v 7, 6 v 2, 5 v 3, 8 v 4 | |
| Matchday 9 | 27 January 2022 | 2 v 1, 4 v 3, 6 v 5, 8 v 7 | November 2021 |
| Matchday 10 | 30 January 2022 | 1 v 4, 2 v 3, 7 v 6, 5 v 8 | |
| Matchday 11 | 2 February 2022 | 3 v 1, 4 v 2, 7 v 5, 8 v 6 | January 2022 |
| Matchday 12 | 24 March 2022 | 6 v 1, 5 v 2, 8 v 3, 7 v 4 | |
| Matchday 13 | 27 March 2022 | 1 v 8, 2 v 7, 3 v 6, 4 v 5 | March 2022 |
| Matchday 14 | 30 March 2022 | 5 v 1, 8 v 2, 7 v 3, 6 v 4 |
Qualified teams
The top five teams based on the FIFA rankings of July 2020 (shown in parentheses) received a bye to the third round.[12] For consistency, the three winners of the second round are shown with their FIFA rankings as of July 2020.[12]
| Bye to third round | Second round winners |
|---|---|
|
|
Draw
The draw for the third round was held, along with the draw for the first round, on 19 August 2020, 19:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA headquarters in Zürich, Switzerland.[13]
Teams were drawn from a single pot, and then were allocated a position (from 1 to 8) to determine the match schedule. The identity of the three second round winners was not known at the time of the draw.[14]
Note: Bolded teams qualified for the World Cup. Costa Rica advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
| Draw position |
Team |
|---|---|
| 1 |  Canada [a]
|
| 2 |  Honduras
|
| 3 |  El Salvador [a]
|
| 4 |  United States
|
| 5 |  Panama [a]
|
| 6 |  Costa Rica
|
| 7 |  Mexico
|
| 8 |  Jamaica
|
Standings