The Semifinal Round of CONCACAF Qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is set. Sounders FC will likely be represented by many different nations, particularly those in Group C.
The United States, Guatemala, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Trinidad & Tobago are scheduled to battle it out in Group C for two spots in the next round of qualifying. Sounders FC’s Clint Dempsey and Brad Evans have played for the USMNT this year – along with Sounders Academy product Jordan Morris – while Marco Pappa is a regular for Guatemala and S2 forwards Oalex Anderson and Myron Samuel play for St. Vincent & The Grenadines.
In the Semifinal Round, the four nations will play six games apiece, facing each opponent within Group C once at home and once away. Group winners and runners-up advance to the Hexagonal, where three CONCACAF nations will clinch a berth in the World Cup. The fourth-place team at the Hexagonal plays a home-and-home playoff against a nation from the Asian Football Confederation.
Guatemala and St. Vincent & The Grenadines clinched their spots in the Semifinal Round on Tuesday. After losing 1-0 to Antigua & Barbuda last Friday, Guatemala advanced via a 2-0 victory in the second leg in Guatemala City. St. Vincent & The Grenadines fell 2-1 to Aruba on Tuesday, but the Caribbean nation won 3-2 on aggregate thanks to its 2-0 victory last week.
Sounders FC will also be represented in Group B, where centerback Román Torres and the Panamanian National Team are matched up with Costa Rica, Haiti and Jamaica. Group A consists of Gold Cup champion Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador and Canada.
Semifinal Round matches are scheduled to begin on November 13, with the USMNT facing St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Guatemala battling Trinidad & Tobago.
