CONCACAF released the schedule for its third round of FIFA World Cup qualifying, setting the match-ups and dates for the 12 remaining teams split into three groups. The six-match schedule was split into three pairs of games set for June 8-12, September 7-11 and October 12-16.
The qualifying dates will have minimal impact on the 2012 US Open Cup according to the new format of the tournament reported by TheCup.us in which the event will be completed prior to August. The first pair of qualifiers, June 8 and 12, are the lone contests that fall within that window. At least the first three rounds of the US Open Cup are expected to be complete at that time, meaning that MLS participation will have commenced and some teams could already be eliminated.
Slated for a May 15 start, the first four rounds could potentially be complete prior to the first qualifiers if they are held on consecutive weeks. The 2010 tournament is the only time in recent years in which four rounds were played without a break, but the World Cup that year fell during the dates of the first two rounds in which MLS was not participating.
Although the dates for the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League have not been announced, the 2012 World Cup qualification dates fall within similar breaks in CCL group play observed in all four previous editions of the tournament. The first two CCL group games would be held before the September 7 and 11 qualifier contests. The next three CCL matches would be played before the final two qualification dates October 12 and 16, leaving one final group contest to determine the CCL Quarterfinals.
Full CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Schedule [+]
-
No comments:
Post a Comment