The United States men’s national team knows its path to Qatar 2022... kinda.
Gregg Berhalter’s men know for certain which nations they’ll play in which windows of 8 of 14 final round dates, and the teams they could face in the other six.
CONCACAF conducted its World Cup qualifying draw on Wednesday for the first round and final “Octagonal” stage, the USMNT learning when it will play rivals Mexico and Canada learning its group mates in a bid to make the final round.
[ MORE: Breaking down the USMNT qualifying schedule ]
The U.S. will face two of the first round playoff winners -- the first could be Trinidad and Tobago -- in each of the first two match days before visiting Honduras and hosting Jamaica to close out June 2021, in what should be a decent runway into qualifying.
They’ll then face another playoff winner before hosting Costa Rica in September 2021.
October 2021 sees the first qualifier versus Mexico, at home, before going to Jamaica in a tough week of matches.
November 2021 sees two more playoff winners against the Yanks, followed by a January 2022 visit from Honduras and trip to Azteca (probably) to face El Tri.
Another playoff winner and a trip to Costa Rica are the two final matches on the USMNT’s docket. They’ll want qualifying well sorted by then, as visiting Los Ticos with anyting on the line is a lot harder than, say, Couva and T&T’s B-team.
CONCACAF World Cup qualifying first round draw
The winners of each of six groups will meet in two-legged ties to determine the final three places in the Octagonal, which already includes Mexico, the United States, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Jamaica.
We already know which group winners will face off in those ties.
Group A winner vs. Group F winner (Favorites: El Salvador v. Trinidad and Tobago)
Group B winner vs. Group E winner (Favorites: Canada v. Haiti)
Group C winner vs. Group D winner (Favorites: Curacao v. Panama)
Group A
El Salvador
Antigua and Barbuda
Grenada
Montserrat
U.S. Virgin Islands
Group B
Canada
Suriname
Bermuda
Cayman Islands
Aruba
Group C
Curacao
Guatemala
St. Vincent and The Grenadines
Cuba
British Virgin Islands
Group D
Panama
Dominican Republic
Barbados
Dominica
Anguilla
Group E
Haiti
Nicaragua
Belize
St. Lucia
Turks and Caicos
Group F
Trinidad and Tobago
St. Kitts and Nevis
Guyana
Puerto Rico
Bahamas
COUVA, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - OCTOBER 10: A contrast of emotions as captain Michael Bradley (C) of the United States mens national team reacts as Trinidad and Tobago pull of a win during the FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Trinidad and Tobago at the Ato Boldon Stadium on October 10, 2017 in Couva, Trinidad And Tobago. (Photo by Ashley Allen/Getty Images)
Ashley Allen
CONCACAF Octagonal draw
Contestants
Mexico
United States (USMNT)
Costa Rica
Honduras
Jamaica
Winner of B v E
Winner of A v F
Winner of C v D
Schedule
June 2021 - Window 1
Winner of B v E v Honduras
Winner of A v F v USMNT
Winner of C v D v Costa Rica
Mexico v Jamaica
USMNT v Winner of B v E
Winner of A v F v Honduras
Costa Rica v Mexico
Jamaica v Winner of C v D
June 2021 - Window 2
Winner of B v E v Winner of A v F
Honduras v USMNT
Winner of C v D v Mexico
Costa Rica v Jamaica
Mexico v Winner of B v E
Honduras v Costa Rica
Winner of A v F v Winner of C v D
USMNT v Jamaica
September 2021 - Window 3
Jamaica v Winner of B v E
Mexico v Honduras
Costa Rica v Winner of A v F
Winner of C v D v USMNT
Winner of B v E v Winner of C v D
Honduras v Jamaica
Winner of A v F v Mexico
USMNT v Costa Rica
October 2021 - Window 4
Winner of B v E v Costa Rica
Honduras v Winner of C v D
Winner of A v F v Jamaica
USMNT v Mexico
Winner of B v E v. Mexico
Costa Rica v. Honduras
Winner of C v D v. Winner of A v F
Jamaica v. USMNT
November 2021 - Window 5
Honduras v Winner of B v E
USMNT v Winner of A v F
Costa Rica v Winner of C v D
Jamaica v Mexico
Winner of B v E v USMNT
Honduras v Winner of A v F
Mexico v Costa Rica
Winner of C v D v Jamaica
January 2022 - Window 6
Winner of A v F v Winner of B v E
USMNT v Honduras
Mexico v Winner of C v D
Jamaica v Costa Rica
Costa Rica v Winner of B v E
Winner of C v D v Honduras
Jamaica v Winner of A v F
Mexico v USMNT
March 2022 - Window 7
Winner of B v E v Jamaica
Honduras v Mexico
Winner of A v F v Costa Rica
USMNT v Winner of C v D
Winner of C v D v Winner of B v E
Jamaica v Honduras
Mexico v Winner of A v F
Costa Rica v USMNT