December 6 – With 12 teams already qualified for the 16-team 2021 Gold Cup, Concacaf have announced the knockout draw for the final four slots will take place December 11.
The qualification route for the Gold Cup has been through the tremendously successful second edition of the Concacaf Nations League that has delivered more meaningfully competitive international football across the region than has previously been seen.
Canada, Costa Rica, Curacao, El Salvador, Grenada, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Suriname and the United States have qualified from the Nations League as being either one of the top two finishers in League A, in Group A, or top of Group B.
Traditionally strong nations Guatemala and Trinidad and Tobago have still to qualify, as do perennial Gold Cup participants Cuba, and Haiti, the surprise package of the 2019 Gold Cup who beat Costa Rica in their group and then Canada in the quarter final before losing by a goal to Mexico in the semi-final.
The first round of play-offs will first see double headed elimination matches between the second-placed finishers of Nations League B against the first-place finishers of Nations League C. The four winners will advance to the second round and face the third-place finishers of League A.
The first round will be played in March 2020 with the second round taking place in June 2020.
The 12 countries in the play-off rounds are:
League A: Bermuda, Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago
League B: French Guiana, Guyana, Montserrat and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
League C: Bahamas, Barbados, Guadeloupe and Guatemala
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