The USA, Mexico and other Concacaf favorites won't be kicking off World Cup qualifying next June after all, thanks to new coronavirus-related postponements announced Tuesday by the regional governing body.
The schedule shift—the second required by the pandemic—will see the expanded octagonal final round begin after the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, rather than before.
Concacaf revamped the qualifying format last month, establishing a first round featuring the 30 lowest-ranked national teams in the region. The format won’t change again. Those 30 sides were divided into groups of five and were scheduled to play four matches each this October and November.