USMNT learns schedule for final round of 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying

CHICAGO – The U.S. Men’s National Team learned its schedule for the Final Round of 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying following the official draw at FIFA House in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

The USMNT will open its 14-game Final Round World Cup Qualifying slate in June 2021 away to an undetermined opponent.

“We have been developing this group for more than a year to get ready for World Cup Qualifying, and now we know the path ahead,” USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter said. “This campaign presents some unique challenges, so the message is to be prepared for the unexpected and control what we can control. One thing is certain: this group of players is hungry for the challenge.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing a change to the original World Cup Qualifying format, the Final Round will now feature eight teams playing a 14-game home-and-away round-robin format. Based on being the top five Concacaf teams in July’s FIFA World Ranking, the USA, Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica and Mexico automatically qualified for the Final Round, while the three remaining participants will be determined through two preliminary rounds of qualifying which will run from October 2020 to March 2021.

The U.S. could potentially play Trinidad and Tobago away in their opening match of the Final Round of 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying, depending on the results in the earlier rounds. Trinidad and Tobago defeated the USMNT in their final match of qualifying in October of 2017 to keep the U.S. from missing the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Trinidad and Tobago, the top seed in Group F, would need to win their group and then win the playoff against the winner of Group A.

Final match dates, times and venues will be confirmed at a later date.