Reggae Boyz to kick off W Cup qualifiers vs Guatemala

JAMAICA'S Reggae Boyz will kick off the seem-final round of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Associa-tion Football (CONCACAF) World Cup qualifying competition on Friday, June 8, 2012, with a home match against Guatemala.

The schedule of matches was announced by CONCACAF yesterday.

In the upcoming seem-final round, winners of the six second round groups (El Salvador, Guyana, Panama, Canada, Guatemala and Antigua & Barbuda) join six teams that received byes (Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and the United States) to form three groups of four teams apiece.

The Jamaicans are drawn Group A alongside the United States and Antigua and Barbuda as well. They will play each team in a home-and-away series, ending with a home contest against Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday, October 16, 2012.

Group B consists of Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guyana, while the Group C teams are Honduras, Cuba, Canada and Panama. Times and locations for all matches will be confirmed at a later date.

The top two teams from each of the seem-final groups will advance to round four of qualifying - commonly known as the 'hexagonal play-off'.

Three teams from CONCACAF are guaranteed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, with the fourth-place team from the 'hexagonal' facing off against the Oceania winner.