CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying Draw
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FRANKFURT, Germany -- The United States must overcome the winner of the match between Grenada and Guyana before moving on to a second stage of qualifying for the 2006 World Cup finals.
Mexico, who were beaten by the United States in the 2002 World Cup finals, will meet the winner of the tie between Dominica and the Bahamas.
Canada will play Belize for a ticket to the next round of qualifying.
DRAW FOR THE CONCACAF ZONE PRELIMINARY ROUND FOR THE 2006 WORLD CUP FINALS
GROUP 1 -- Grenada v Guyana, winners v United States
GROUP 2 -- Bermuda v Montserrat, winners v El Salvador
GROUP 3 -- Haiti v Turks and Caicos, winners v Jamaica
GROUP 4 -- British Virgin Is v St Lucia, winners v Panama
GROUP 5 -- Cayman Is v Cuba, winners v Costa Rica
GROUP 6 -- Aruba v Surinam, winners v Guatemala
GROUP 7 -- Antigua v Dutch Antilles, winners v Honduras
GROUP 8 -- Canada v Belize
GROUP 9 -- Dominica v Bahamas, winners v Mexico
GROUP 10 -- US Virgin Is v St Kitts/Nevis, winners v Barbados
GROUP 11 -- Dominican Rep v Anguilla, winners v Trinidad/Tobago
GROUP 12 -- Nicaragua v St Vincent
Number of finalists: Three plus one to playoff.
First stage: 34 teams are drawn into 12 groups and play a cup system on a home and away basis -- The 12 group winners advance to the second stage.
Second stage: Three groups of four teams play a league system on a home and away basis. Group 1 will consist of the four first stage winners from Groups 1 to 4, Group 2 from 5 to 8 and Group 3 from 9 to 12. The three group winners and three runners-up advance to the third stage.
Third stage: One group of six teams play a league system on a home and away basis. The top three teams qualify for the finals, the fourth-placed team go into a playoff against the Asian qualifier.
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Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
