Twelve Teams Remain For Final Round of Qualifying

Recapping the second round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

After playing two matches in June 2024 and now finishing up the final two matches in this second round of World Cup Qualifying this June of 2025, we now have our twelve remaining national teams prepared for the draw in the Final Round of World Cup Qualifying in CONCACAF.

Here are the six groups of five in this recap article.

GROUP A:

HONDURAS 4-0-0 12 PTS +10*

BERMUDA 2-1-1 7 PTS +1*

CUBA 2-0-2 6 PTS +1

CAYMAN ISLANDS 1-0-3 3 PTS -8

ANTIGUA & BARBUDA 0-1-3 1 PT -4

Honduras was the class of the group, winning all four games of their World Cup Qualifying campaign in the second round. Both the Cayman Islands and Antigua & Barbuda were outclassed (outside of the Cayman Islands, which forfeited their road match against Cuba due to their players possibly losing their American visas if they were to be on Cuban soil during the match).

A scenario happened where Cuba had a two point lead over Bermuda, and they were hosting the last match. If Cuba got a draw or a win, they would advance, but if Bermuda got the win, they would advance. So Bermuda pulled out the impossible and got the victory.

Djair Parfitt scored in the sixth minute and held that lead till halftime. In the second half, an equalizer for Cuba came from Jorge Aguirre in the 57th minute. But the game winner for Bermuda was scored by Reggie Lamb in the 74th minute, as they fought to the end and advanced to the final round for the first time.

GROUP B:

COSTA RICA 4-0-0 12 PTS +16*

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 2-1-1 7 PTS +7*

GREANADA 2-1-1 7 PTS +4

ST. KITTS & NEVIS 1-0-3 3 PTS -8

BAHAMAS 0-0-4 0 PTS -32

There is no doubt that Costa Rica was the class of the group, winning all four matches in this round. They were merciless and continued to bring the pain. They gave no quarter and buried their chances.

While Trinidad & Tobago was also a strong side in this group, they almost had a scare with Grenada winning their last second round match at St. Kitts & Nevis as they tied the Soca Warriors on points, but the goal difference was a bit scary till St. Kitts got a second goal to help Trinidad remain in second.

GROUP C:

CURACAO 4-0-0 12 PTS +13*

HAITI 3-0-1 9 PTS +4*

ST. LUCIA 1-1-2 4 PTS -4

ARUBA 0-2-2 2 PTS -7

BARBADOS 0-1-3 1 PT -6

This group had two clear-cut winners. Both Curacao & Haiti took down their opponents with ease, and both qualified just before or after their third match of the group.

Curacao ran roughshod all over their opponents against Aruba, Barbados, and St. Lucia. It was their third match where they helped Haiti qualify for the final round, before they could play their third match officially due to mathematical elimination.

While Haiti also played a great second round campaign, they ran into a brick wall in Curacao at home. Make no mistake, Dick Advocaat has turned Curacao around and there is a good guess they might make some heads turn if they qualify for the World Cup.

GROUP D:

PANAMA 4-0-0 12 PTS +9*

NICARAGUA 3-0-1 9 PTS +4*

GUYANA 2-0-2 6 PTS +2

MONTSERRAT 1-0-3 3 PTS -6

BELIZE 0-0-4 0 PTS -9

Panama continues to be a new power in the Central zone as head coach Thomas Christiansen continues to set them up for success and puts them in the perfect position to get the necessary results for the Canal Boys.

Nicaragua is looking to make the climb back into importance, and they have done a great job getting those three wins before falling to Panama in the last group stage game. The last three sides just weren't good enough to steal one of the top two spots.

GROUP E:

JAMAICA 4-0-0 12 PTS +6*

GUATEMALA 3-0-1 9 PTS +8*

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 2-0-2 6 PTS +6

DOMINICA 1-0-3 3 PTS -9

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 0-0-4 0 PTS -11

While Jamaica has had an up and down World Cup Qualifying campaigns, so far this round, they have been perfect and took advantage of their opponents. Steve McLaren has done a great job putting Jamaica on the front foot and getting them to play better football.

Guatemala has also done well and is looking to be a threat in the final round, but their third match against the Dominican Republic almost threw a wrench into the works. They were down two goals to one at halftime, but somehow got a hat trick from Oscar Santis to push them into the second position of the group.

The Dominican Republic is a side that needs to be looked at carefully now, as the Baseball island is becoming a football island. Now we need to see what they can do with this Gold Cup tournament coming.

GROUP F:

SURINAME: 3-1-0 10 PTS +7*

EL SALVADOR 2-2-0 8 PTS +4*

PUERTO RICO 2-1-1 7 PTS +8

ST. VINCENT/GRENADINES 1-0-3 3 PTS 0

ANGUILLA 0-0-4 0 PTS -20

Suriname has finally reached the final round of qualifying for the very first time, and they are looking to make history by qualifying for their very first World Cup. They took out their opponents until the final match of the group.

El Salvador had some issues, but they played well without dropping the full three points. They held off Puerto Rico long enough to get that second draw to push them ahead.

If El Salvador lost to Suriname, then Puerto Rico's victory over St. Vincent meant that they would've been tied on points, but the goal difference would have knocked out the Salvadorians. This is how tight World Cup Qualifying can get.

Thursday night, 7 PM EDT - 4 PM PDT, will be the draw for the final round of World Cup Qualifying, and it will be shown live on CONCACAF's YouTube channel. Here are the pots for the three groups of four.

POT 1: PANAMA, COSTA RICA, JAMAICA

POT 2: HONDURAS, EL SALVADOR, CURACAO

POT 3: HAITI, TRININDAD & TOIBAGO, GUATEMALA

POT 4: NICARAGUA, SURINAME, BERMUDA

Group winners advance automatically to the World Cup, as the two best second place finishers head toward the intercontinental playoffs.