2010 World Cup Concacaf qualification process set - US gets bye in first round

Concacaf has announced their qualification structure for the 2010 World Cup and it is remarkably similar to the one used for 2006.

The top 13 teams, based on FIFA's May rankings, in the region get an automatic bye in the first round. These teams include the US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Canada, Guyana and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Twenty-two other nations will be drawn into home-home pairings during the qualifying draw on 25 November in Durban South Africa. The 11 winners and St. Vincent will then advance to the second round.

The first round teams will then be drawn into a home-home pairing with the top teams (note that even though St. Vincent is a top team, they will need to play one of the other 12 top teams). The 12 winners of the second round advance to the semifinals.

These 12 teams will be divided into three groups of four. These groups will play home-home series for a total of six matches each. The top two teams in each group advance to the final stage.

The final stage will have six teams play home-home series (10 games each) with the top three earning a spot in South Africa while the fourth place side will have to play a home-home playoff series against the fifth-place team from South American.

So what does this mean for the US? Their next match that matters takes place in the second round, which will probably take place some time in June 2008.

During World Cup 2006 qualification, there was no second round phase for Concacaf. As noted in the comments, there was a second round phase for 2006. I had it noted as the first round for some reason. Sorry about that.