The road to Russia is set for Canada’s men’s national team.
In the preliminary draw for the 2018 FIFA World Cup that took place in St. Petersburg, Russia on Saturday, Canada found out who they’ll play in the third and fourth rounds of qualifying in the CONCACAF region.
First up is Belize in a home-and-away series that takes place on September 4 at BMO Field in Toronto with the return leg set for September 8 in Belize.
“We can say Belize is a team that has made positive and continuous progress,” said Canada head coach Benito Floro. “That’s good for us because it won’t be easy to pass this eliminatory round. We need to focus on these first two games with a lot of intensity.”
The winner of that tie will move into Group A for the fourth round of qualifying. It’s a tough group that features regional powers Mexico, Honduras and either Curacao or El Salvador. The first two games of that round take place in November.
“Speaking about the group in which we could be included if we beat Belize, I think that all the teams have a similar level,” said Floro. “It’s true that Mexico is one step over the rest. But we need to trust in our players because history has demonstrated that it’s possible to qualify for the hexagonal.”
The top two teams from that round move into the ‘Hexagonal,’ the final round of qualifying in the CONCACAF region. The top three teams from that six-team group qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup while the fourth place team will go to a home-and-away intercontinental playoff against a team from Asia.
“Of course, we’re only going to focus on Belize right now because if we don’t win that, it doesn’t matter to think about the groups,” Floro admitted. “For us it’s very important and we can’t have any doubts about that.”
CONCACAF 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION PATH
- First round (March 23-31, 2015): A total of 14 teams (teams ranked 22–35) will play home-and-away over two legs. The seven winners will advance to the second round. COMPLETE.
- Second round (June 8-16, 2015): A total of 20 teams (teams ranked 9–21 and seven first round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The 10 winners will advance to the third round. COMPLETE.
- Third round (August 31 - September 8, 2015): A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 7–8 and 10 second round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The six winners will advance to the fourth round.
- Fourth round (November 7-17, 2015 / March 21-29, 2016 / August 29 - September 6, 2016): A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 1–6 and six third round winners) will be divided into three groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will advance to the fifth round.
- Fifth round (November 7-15, 2016 / March 20-28, 2017 / June 5-13, 2017 / August 28-September 5, 2017 / October 2-10, 2017): The six teams which advance from the fourth round will play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group (often referred to as the "Hexagonal"). The top three teams will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fourth-placed team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
