2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification

The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification tournament determined the final three teams to qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[2]

2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup qualification
2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Prelims
Tournament details
Host countryUnited States
CityFort Lauderdale
Dates2–6 July 2021[1]
Teams12
Venue(s)1 (in 1 host city)
Tournament statistics
Matches played8
Goals scored38 (4.75 per match)
Attendance37,455 (4,682 per match)
Top scorer(s)Bermuda Nahki Wells
Haiti Frantzdy Pierrot
(4 goals each)
2023

Prior to the qualifiers, twelve of the sixteen teams of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup had already been decided based on the results of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League:

Another twelve teams competed in the qualifiers. The matches were originally scheduled to be played in March and June 2020, but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The matches took place from 2 to 6 July 2021, the week before the start of the Gold Cup group stage, at DRV PNK Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the United States.[3][4]

Teams

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Twelve teams participated in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Qualifiers based on the results of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League. These teams were the four group third-placed teams of League A, the four group runners-up of League B, and the four group winners of League C.

League A
Group Third place
A   Cuba
B   Bermuda
C   Trinidad and Tobago
D   Haiti
League B
Group Runners-up
A   French Guiana
B   Montserrat
C   Guyana
D   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
League C
Group Winners
A   Barbados
B   Bahamas
C   Guatemala
D   Guadeloupe

Following the suspension of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association by FIFA on 24 September 2020,[5] CONCACAF announced the following day that Trinidad and Tobago would still participate in the qualifying draw scheduled for 28 September 2020. If the suspension had not been lifted by 18 December 2020, Trinidad and Tobago would have been replaced by the next highest-ranked team in the CONCACAF Nations League which did not qualify for the Gold Cup finals or preliminaries, Antigua and Barbuda (a third-placed team in League B).[6]

Original format

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The first round was originally to be played on 26 and 31 March 2020.[7] The four winners of Nations League C would face the four runner-ups of Nations League B, played as two-legged ties. The teams from League B would host the second legs. The four winners would advance to the second round. The second round was originally to be played during the FIFA international window of 1 to 9 June 2020. The four first round winners would face the four third-placed teams of Nations League A, played as two-legged ties. The teams from League A would host the second legs. The four winners would qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Draw

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The qualifying draw took place on 11 December 2019, 19:00 EST (UTC−5), in Miami, Florida, United States.[8] Three pots were prepared, with Pot A containing the League A teams, Pot B containing the League B teams and Pot C containing the League C teams. To draw the first round matches, teams from Pot C were first drawn and allocated, in order, to pairings 1 to 4. To complete the fixtures, teams from Pot B were then drawn and allocated, in order, to pairings 1 to 4. To draw the second round matches, the Pot A teams were drawn and allocated to face the winners of first round pairings 1 to 4.[9][10]

The draw results were as follows:

First round Second round
Match Team 1 (League C) Team 2 (League B) Match Team 1 (Winner R1) Team 2 (League A)
1   Guadeloupe   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5 Winner 1   Haiti
2   Barbados   Guyana 6 Winner 2   Trinidad and Tobago
3   Bahamas   French Guiana 7 Winner 3   Bermuda
4   Guatemala   Montserrat 8 Winner 4   Cuba

Postponement

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On 13 March 2020, CONCACAF suspended all upcoming competitions scheduled to take place over the next 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the new dates of the matches to be confirmed later.[11] On 3 April 2020, CONCACAF announced the suspension of the June qualifiers, with the new dates of the matches to be confirmed at a later time.[12]

New format

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On 27 July 2020, CONCACAF announced that the qualifiers would be played by the twelve teams as a centralized preliminary round in the United States, in the week prior to the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage.[3] On 2 September 2020, CONCACAF announced that Qatar were invited to the Gold Cup as guests, and that the qualification tournament would determine the last three teams to participate in the group stage of the Gold Cup. The qualification tournament featured two rounds, with the twelve participating teams divided into six one-off ties in the first round. The six winners advanced to the second round, with the winners of the three one-off matches qualifying for the Gold Cup.[13]

Draw

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The draw for the first round took place in Miami, Florida on 28 September 2020, 20:00 EDT (UTC−4), along with the draw for the Gold Cup group stage.[13] The top six teams based on the CONCACAF Rankings of August 2020 were pre-seeded into matches 1 to 6 (highest ranked in match 1, second-highest ranked in match 2, etc.), while the remaining six teams were drawn from a single pot. The fixtures for the second round were predetermined.[14]

The following was the composition of the draw pots (August 2020 CONCACAF Rankings show in parentheses):[15]

Pot 1 (seeded)
Team Rank
  Haiti 7
  Guatemala 9
  Trinidad and Tobago 12
  Cuba 14
  Guadeloupe 16
  Bermuda 17
Pot 2 (unseeded)
Team Rank
  French Guiana 18
  Guyana 19
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 23
  Barbados 29
  Montserrat 30
  Bahamas 33

Bracket

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The match schedule was announced on 13 May 2021.[16]

All match times listed are local, EDT (UTC−4).

First roundSecond round
              
2 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Haiti6
6 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1
  Haiti4
2 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Bermuda1
  Bermuda8
  Barbados1
3 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Guatemala4
6 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Guyana0
  Guatemala1 (9)
3 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Guadeloupe (p)1 (10)
  Guadeloupe2
  Bahamas0
2 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Trinidad and Tobago6
6 July – Fort Lauderdale
  Montserrat1
  Trinidad and Tobago (p)1 (8)
3 July – Fort Lauderdale
  French Guiana1 (7)
  Cuba0
  French Guiana (awd.)3

First round

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Summary

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Team 1  Score  Team 2
Haiti   6–1   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Guatemala   4–0   Guyana
Trinidad and Tobago   6–1   Montserrat
Cuba   0–3 (awd.)   French Guiana
Guadeloupe   2–0   Bahamas
Bermuda   8–1   Barbados

Matches

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Haiti  6–1  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Report
Attendance: 2,601
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)

Guatemala  4–0  Guyana
Report
Attendance: 17,161
Referee: Juan Gabriel Calderón (Costa Rica)

Trinidad and Tobago  6–1  Montserrat
Report
Attendance: 7,425
Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)

Cuba  0–3
Awarded[note 1]
  French Guiana
Report

Guadeloupe  2–0  Bahamas
Report
Attendance: 100
Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada)

Bermuda  8–1  Barbados
Report

Second round

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Summary

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Team 1  Score  Team 2
Haiti   4–1   Bermuda
Guatemala   1–1 (9–10 p)   Guadeloupe
Trinidad and Tobago   1–1 (8–7 p)   French Guiana

Matches

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Haiti  4–1  Bermuda
Report
Attendance: 3,448
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)

Guatemala  1–1  Guadeloupe
Report
Penalties
9–10
Attendance: 3,571
Referee: Fernando Hernández (Mexico)

Trinidad and Tobago  1–1  French Guiana
Report
Penalties
8–7

Ranking of losing teams

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On 9 July 2021, CONCACAF announced that Curaçao, who had qualified for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup via the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League (League A Group D second place), would not participate in the tournament due to a high number of COVID-19 cases within the team. As a result, CONCACAF decided to replace them with the next highest-ranked team from qualification (based on wins, draws and goal difference), Guatemala.[19]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1   Guatemala 2 1 1 0 5 1 +4 4 Qualification to 2021 Gold Cup
2   French Guiana 2 1 1 0 4 1 +3 4
3   Bermuda 2 1 0 1 9 5 +4 3
4   Bahamas 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0
5   Cuba 1 0 0 1 0 3 −3 0
6   Guyana 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4 0
7   Montserrat 1 0 0 1 1 6 −5 0
7   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 0 0 1 1 6 −5 0
9   Barbados 1 0 0 1 1 8 −7 0
Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.

Qualified teams

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  Team qualified for CONCACAF Gold Cup
  Team failed to qualify
  Team disqualified
Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in CONCACAF Gold Cup1
only Gold Cup era (since 1991)
  Canada CNL League A Group A 2nd place 11 October 2019 14 (1991, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  Honduras CNL League A Group C 1st place 13 October 2019 14 (1991, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  Grenada CNL League B Group A 1st place 14 October 2019 2 (2009, 2011)
  Jamaica CNL League B Group C 1st place 15 November 2019 11 (1991, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  United States CNL League A Group A 1st place 15 November 2019 15 (1991, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  Mexico CNL League A Group B 1st place 15 November 2019 15 (1991, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  El Salvador CNL League B Group B 1st place 16 November 2019 11 (1996, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  Costa Rica CNL League A Group D 1st place 17 November 2019 14 (1991, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  Martinique CNL League A Group C 2nd place 17 November 2019 6 (1993, 2002, 2003, 2013, 2017, 2019)
  Suriname CNL League B Group D 1st place 18 November 2019 0 (debut)
  Panama CNL League A Group B 2nd place 19 November 2019 9 (1993, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019)
  Qatar Invitees 2 September 2020 0 (debut)
  Trinidad and Tobago Prelims 9 winner 6 July 2021 10 (1991, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2019)
  Haiti Prelims 7 winner 6 July 2021 7 (2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2019)
  Guadeloupe Prelims 8 winner 6 July 2021 3 (2007, 2009, 2011)
  Guatemala Next best-ranked team from prelims 9 July 2021 10 (1991, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2015)
1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There were 38 goals scored in 8 matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Best XI

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The Best XI squad of the first and second preliminary rounds was selected by CONCACAF following the conclusion of matches.[20]

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Nicklas Frenderup   Ronan Hauterville
  Gerardo Gordillo
  Aubrey David
  Ryan Telfer
  Derrick Etienne
  Kevin Molino
  Matthias Phaëton
  Frantzdy Pierrot
  Duckens Nazon
  Nahki Wells

Notes

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  1. ^ Due to COVID-19 related travel and visa challenges regarding the Cuban team, the match was cancelled and awarded as a win to French Guiana.[17][18]

References

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  1. ^ "Further changes to the international match calendars due to the COVID-19 pandemic unanimously approved by the Bureau of the Council". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 18 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Concacaf Nations League to Serve as Pathway for 2021 Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b "New Concacaf Qualifiers announced for regional qualification to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". CONCACAF. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. ^ "2021 Concacaf Gold Cup to begin with Prelims in South Florida this July". CONCACAF. 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  5. ^ "FIFA suspends the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association". FIFA. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. ^ "CONCACAF Statement – Trinidad and Tobago Football Association and the Gold Cup Draw". CONCACAF. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  7. ^ "First-Round 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Qualifying Matches Schedule Announced". CONCACAF.com. 29 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 September 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Draw Delivers Matchups for 2021 Gold Cup Qualifying Matches". CONCACAF Gold Cup. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  9. ^ "2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Qualifying Draw Set for December 11". Miami: CONCACAF. 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  10. ^ "Road to Gold Cup Official Draw". CONCACAF Gold Cup. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  11. ^ "Concacaf suspends all its competitions scheduled to take place over the next 30 days". CONCACAF. 13 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Concacaf Statement regarding the suspension of the Concacaf Nations League Finals, Road to Gold Cup Qualifiers and Flow Caribbean Club Championship". CONCACAF. 3 April 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Draw Delivers Prelims Matchups and Groups for 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 29 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  14. ^ "CONCACAF announces details for first ever Gold Cup Draw". CONCACAF. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  15. ^ "CONCACAF Men's National Team Ranking". CONCACAF. 1 August 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Concacaf announces schedule for 2021 Gold Cup". CONCACAF. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Concacaf Statement regarding the Cuban National Team". CONCACAF. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  18. ^ "Concacaf Statement – Cuba forfeit of Gold Cup Preliminary Round match". CONCACAF. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Concacaf Statement – Curacao Delegation at 2021 Gold Cup" (Press release). CONCACAF. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  20. ^ "Nazon, Phaeton head up Prelims Best XI". CONCACAF. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
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