And So It Begins
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The preliminary round will pit the nonseeded caribbean teams in a home and home series with the winner being determined by aggragate goals. The winners of these prelim matches then advance to the second round where the seeded countries were drawn. The second round winner is also a home and home series with aggragate goals being the determining factor to see who advances to the semi-final round.
Group 1A
Dominica v
Barbados, winner will play
United States
Group 1B Template:Country data TurksCaicos Turks & Caicos v Template:Country data StLuciaSt. Lucia, winner will play
Guatemala
Group 1C
Bermuda v Template:Country data CaymanIslandsCayman Islands, winner will play Template:Country data TrinidadandTobagoTrinidad & Tobago
Group 1D
Aruba v Template:Country data AntiguaAntigua and Barbuda, winner will play
Cuba
Group 2A
Belize v Template:Country data StKittsSt. Kitts & Nevis, winner will play
Mexico
Group 2B
Bahamas v Template:Country data BVI British Virgin Islands, winner will play
Jamaica
Group 2C Template:Country data DominicanRepublicDominican Republic v Template:Country data PuertoRicoPuerto Rico, winner will play
Honduras
Group 2D No prelim matches, second round is
Canada v Template:Country data StVincentSt. Vincent and the Grenadines
Group 3A Template:Country data USVI US Virgin Islands v
Grenada, winner will play Template:Country data CostaRicaCosta Rica
Group 3B
Suriname v
Montserrat, winner will play
Guyana
Group 3C Template:Country data ElSalvadorEl Salvador v
Anguilla, winner will play
Panama
Group 3D
Nicaragua v Template:Country data NetherlandsAntillesNetherlands Antilles, winner will play
Haiti
The semi-final round is made up of 3 four team groups. So if everything goes according to hoyle then the USA will more than likely face Guatamala, Trinidad & Tobago and Cuba in this round. The top two teams for each group in the semi-final round advance then to the final round. The final round is a 6 team group with each team playing each other home and away. The final round is also referred to as the Hexagonal, since there are 6 teams in the group. The top three finishers in the final round automatically qualify for the big tournament in South Africa with the fourth place team entering into a home and home playoff with a South American team for a spot in the World Cup.
So there you have it, the long road ahead for the USMNT, let's go boys and here's hoping that the United States qualifies for its' sixth consecutive World Cup Finals.

