MIAMI, Florida – The second Matchday of the Final Round of Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022 features four match-ups that have a wide range of history when it comes to going head-to-head in WCQ.
Out of the 56 all-time meetings between Mexico and Costa Rica, 22 have come in Concacaf WCQ, with El Tricolor owning an 11W-7D-4L advantage in the series. However, Costa Rica will forever be able to lay claim that they were the first team to win a WCQ on Mexican soil when they downed Mexico 2-1 at the Estadio Azteca in WCQ for South Korea/Japan 2002.
Sunday’s contest in San Jose, Costa Rica, will also mark their seventh WCQ since the Third Round of WCQ for Brazil 2014, with Mexico holding a slight 3W-2D-1L advantage. Needless to say, these two sides are well-acquainted when it comes to the perils of WCQ.
Jamaica and Panama perhaps do not share the long histories of Sunday’s other match-ups, but in recent cycles these two sides have seen each other often.
Overall, there have been six WCQ matches between the Caribbean and Central American sides, but all of those have come since WCQ for Germany 2006.
The numbers also favor Panama, who in those six meetings have never lost to the Reggae Boyz, with three wins and three draws.
The Canaleros could even go as far as to say that Kingston’s Independence Park, the site of Sunday’s contest, is like a second home. In their three matches in the Jamaican capital, Panama boast an impressive 2W-1D-0L record.
The international series between El Salvador and Honduras is well-chronicled, with an incredible 81 all-time matches played between the Central American sides.
However, only 16 have come in previous WCQ cycles and the Catrachos enjoy a 9W-3D-4L series lead and a healthy advantage on goals, with 25 in favor and 13 against.
One curious wrinkle though is that since USA 1994, there has only been one cycle in which they have met in the Final Round of Concacaf WCQ. That was in 2009 for South Africa 2010 when Honduras emerged victorious 1-0 in both contests.
The fourth and final match-up pits North American rivals Canada and the United States in another series with plenty of history, although not in recent cycles.
Canada lead the all-time series in WCQ with six wins, three draws and four losses in 13 matches, accounting for nearly a third of the 36 all-time meetings between the two.
Since the U.S.’s landmark qualification for Italy 1990 when they snapped a 40-year FIFA World Cup drought, Canada and the U.S. have squared off in just one Concacaf WCQ cycle for France 1998 when the U.S pocketed 3-0 wins in both matches.
