Hexagonal (CONCACAF)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Error creating thumbnail:
Costa Rica facing Honduras during the first matchday of the Hexagonal for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

In association football, the term Hexagonal (known in English as The Hex[1]) was often used to refer to the final round of FIFA World Cup qualification among the six remaining teams in CONCACAF.[2] The six-team round robin format was used by CONCACAF since the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification process, up until the 2018 tournament. For 2022, this round was expanded to eight teams or an octagonal. It was modeled after the CONCACAF Championship which used the format ever since its second edition in 1965, and served as the World Cup qualifying tournament from 1974 to 1990.

The United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica were present in every Hexagonal.[3][4] Mexico was the only national team that qualified for the FIFA World Cup in every Hexagonal.

The Hexagonal, or Hex for short, was named for the hexagon (a six sided shape) due to there being six teams remaining in the tournament at the time.[5]

United States vs. Mexico rivalry

[edit | edit source]
File:Mapfre-stadium-hosts-USA-Mexico 11-11-2016.JPG
The Columbus Crew Stadium before the 11 November 2016 match between Mexico and the United States, which saw the Mexicans end the Dos a Cero streak
See also: Mexico–United States soccer rivalry

The United States and Mexico were the most successful teams in the Hexagonal, with Mexico qualifying for every World Cup since 1994. Indeed, the Mexico–United States soccer rivalry has been hotly contested during the Hexagonal. Matches between the two opponents hosted by Mexico often sell out the 100,000 seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City; matches hosted in the United States are often held in cold northern cities such as Columbus, Ohio.

Episodes of this rivalry during Hexagonal matchdays include the Dos a Cero, a streak of four consecutive 2–0 victories for the United States at the Columbus Crew Stadium between 2001 and 2013.[6][7][8] The streak ended on November 11, 2016 as the Mexicans defeated the Americans 1–2.[9]

Another noteworthy event occurred on 15 October 2013, the final matchday of the Hexagonal on the road to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Mexicans were out of the World Cup as they were losing against Costa Rica in San José and Panama were defeating the Americans, both matches by 2–1. However, during stoppage time, Graham Zusi and Aron Jóhannsson scored for the United States, resulting in an American victory by 3–2, which helped Mexico qualify to the intercontinental play-off series against New Zealand.[10] The United States national team Twitter account mocked the Mexicans by tweeting #YoureWelcomeMexico and tagging their Mexican counterparts' profile.[11] Because of the significance of his goal, Zusi received recognition from some Mexican fans as "a saint".[12] Zusi also revealed that Mexican player Marco Fabián thanked him for the goal.[13]

1998

[edit | edit source]
Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round

The first hexagonal round was played in 1997, between 2 March and 16 November. Mexico topped the round robin undefeated, being the only team to do so.[14] Jamaica qualified to their first (and so far, only) FIFA World Cup.[15] It was Canada's only participation in the hexagonal round, and their last appearance at the final stage of a FIFA World Cup qualification until 2022, in which they qualified for the tournament after 36 years.[16]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification File:Flag of Jamaica.svg File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg File:Flag of El Salvador.svg File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
1  Mexico 10 4 6 0 23 7 +16 18 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 0–0 6–0 3–3 5–0 4–0
2  United States 10 4 5 1 17 9 +8 17 2–2 — 1–1 1–0 4–2 3–0
3 File:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica 10 3 5 2 7 12 −5 14 0–0 0–0 — 1–0 1–0 1–0
4 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 10 3 3 4 13 12 +1 12 0–0 3–2 3–1 — 0–0 3–1
5 File:Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador 10 2 4 4 11 16 −5 10 0–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 — 4–1
6 File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 10 1 3 6 5 20 −15 6 2–2 0–3 0–0 1–0 0–0 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

2002

[edit | edit source]
Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF final round

The second edition of The Hex was played in 2001, between 28 February and 11 November. It was topped by Costa Rica, who totaled a record 23 points.[17] The Costa Ricans marked the first defeat Mexico ever had at a World Cup qualification match at home soil, in a match known as El Aztecazo.[18]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg File:Flag of Jamaica.svg File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg
1 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 10 7 2 1 17 7 +10 23 Qualified to the 2002 FIFA World Cup — 0–0 2–0 2–2 2–1 3–0
2  Mexico 10 5 2 3 16 9 +7 17 1–2 — 1–0 3–0 4–0 3–0
3  United States 10 5 2 3 11 8 +3 17 1–0 2–0 — 2–3 2–1 2–0
4 File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras 10 4 2 4 17 17 0 14 2–3 3–1 1–2 — 1–0 0–1
5 File:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica 10 2 2 6 7 14 −7 8 0–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 — 1–0
6 File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 2 7 5 18 −13 5 0–2 1–1 0–0 2–4 1–2 —
Source: FIFA

2006

[edit | edit source]
Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification United States Mexico Costa Rica Trinidad and Tobago Guatemala Panama
1  United States 10 7 1 2 16 6 +10 22[a] 2006 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–0
2  Mexico 10 7 1 2 22 9 +13 22[a] 2–1 — 2–0 2–0 5–2 5–0
3 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 10 5 1 4 15 14 +1 16 3–0 1–2 — 2–0 3–2 2–1
4 File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 10 4 1 5 10 15 −5 13 Inter-confederation play-offs 1–2 2–1 0–0 — 3–2 2–0
5 File:Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala 10 3 2 5 16 18 −2 11 0–0 0–2 3–1 5–1 — 2–1
6 File:Flag of Panama.svg Panama 10 0 2 8 4 21 −17 2 0–3 1–1 1–3 0–1 0–0 —
Source: [19]
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: United States +1, Mexico −1.
  • United States finished ahead of Mexico based on results between tied teams which were the first tiebreaker.
  • Mexico, United States and Costa Rica directly advanced to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
  • Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the AFC-CONCACAF play-off, where they would defeat Bahrain 2–1 on aggregate to advance to the World Cup.

2010

[edit | edit source]
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round

The six teams that reached the fourth round formed one double-round-robin, home-and-away group nicknamed the "Hexagonal." The top three teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fourth place team qualified for a home-and-away play-off against the fifth-place team from CONMEBOL.

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification United States Mexico Honduras Costa Rica El Salvador Trinidad and Tobago
1  United States 10 6 2 2 19 13 +6 20 Qualification to 2010 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 3–0
2  Mexico 10 6 1 3 18 12 +6 19 2–1 — 1–0 2–0 4–1 2–1
3 File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras 10 5 1 4 17 11 +6 16 2–3 3–1 — 4–0 1–0 4–1
4 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 10 5 1 4 15 15 0 16 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs 3–1 0–3 2–0 — 1–0 4–0
5 File:Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador 10 2 2 6 9 15 −6 8 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 — 2–2
6 File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 3 6 10 22 −12 6 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–3 1–0 —
Source: [20]

2014

[edit | edit source]
Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fourth round

In the fourth round, the three group winners and three runners-up from the third round competed in a double round robin, including a home and away match against the other five teams between 6 February and 15 October 2013. The draw for 'The Hex' was conducted by FIFA on 7 November 2012.[21]

The top three teams qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, while the fourth-placed team advanced to a home-away series against the winner of Oceania, which ended up being New Zealand. Teams are ranked first by total points in all games, then, if tied, by best goal differential in all games, then by total goals in all games. If still tied, the same criteria are applied to games among the tied teams (including head-to-head away goals scored).

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg File:Flag of Panama.svg File:Flag of Jamaica.svg
1  United States 10 7 1 2 15 8 +7 22 Qualification to 2014 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–0
2 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 10 5 3 2 13 7 +6 18 3–1 — 1–0 2–1 2–0 2–0
3 File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras 10 4 3 3 13 12 +1 15 2–1 1–0 — 2–2 2–2 2–0
4  Mexico 10 2 5 3 7 9 −2 11 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs 0–0 0–0 1–2 — 2–1 0–0
5 File:Flag of Panama.svg Panama 10 1 5 4 10 14 −4 8 2–3 2–2 2–0 0–0 — 0–0
6 File:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica 10 0 5 5 5 13 −8 5 1–2 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 —
Source: [22]

2018

[edit | edit source]
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF fifth round

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification Mexico Costa Rica Panama Honduras United States Trinidad and Tobago
1  Mexico 10 6 3 1 16 7 +9 21 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 3–1
2 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 10 4 4 2 14 8 +6 16 1–1 — 0–0 1–1 4–0 2–1
3 File:Flag of Panama.svg Panama 10 3 4 3 9 10 −1 13 0–0 2–1 — 2–2 1–1 3–0
4 File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras 10 3 4 3 13 19 −6 13 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs 3–2 1–1 0–1 — 1–1 3–1
5  United States 10 3 3 4 17 13 +4 12 1–2 0–2 4–0 6–0 — 2–0
6 File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 10 2 0 8 7 19 −12 6 0–1 0–2 1–0 1–2 2–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
  • Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
  • Honduras advanced to the CONCACAF–AFC playoff; they would be defeated by Australia 3–1 on aggregate.
  • The United States failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since the Hexagonal was introduced; they had qualified for every World Cup between 1990 and 2014.

Replacement and future

[edit | edit source]

The Hexagonal was initially the top-seeded round in the CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup,[23] but, following FIFA's decision on 25 June 2020 to postpone the September international window due to the COVID-19 pandemic (except UEFA), CONCACAF noted that "The challenges presented by postponements to the football calendar, and the incomplete FIFA rankings cycle in our confederation, means our current World Cup qualifying process has been compromised and will be changed."[24] The confederation eventually announced on 27 July its new qualifying format for the World Cup, replacing the Hexagonal with an eight-team final round,[25] dubbed the Octagonal. FIFA subsequently announced that a January–February window will be used for all confederations except UEFA.[26]

For the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Canada, the United States, and Mexico automatically qualified as co-hosts, so they will not participate in qualifiers for the final tournament, which will be expanded to 48 teams. The number of places allocated to CONCACAF for the 2026 tournament has been increased from three and a half to six including the hosts, meaning three non-hosting CONCACAF teams will earn their berths in the final tournament from the CONCACAF qualifiers, along with two intercontinental play-off berths (one for each confederation except UEFA and one additional berth as CONCACAF is the host confederation).

Records

[edit | edit source]

Ranking of teams

[edit | edit source]
# Team Hexagonals Times qualified Total apps
1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018
1  Mexico 1 2 2 2 4 1 6 6
2  United States 2 3 1 1 1 5 5 6
3 File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 4 1 3 4 2 2 4 6
4 File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras ― 4 ― 3 3 4 2 4
5 File:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica 3 5 ― ― 6 ― 1 3
6 File:Flag of Panama.svg Panama ― ― 6 ― 5 3 1 3
7 File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago ― 6 4 6 ― 6 1 4
8 File:Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador 5 ― ― 5 ― ― 0 2
9 File:Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala ― ― 5 ― ― ― 0 1
10 File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 6 ― ― ― ― ― 0 1
Notes
  Team finished as leaders and qualified to the FIFA World Cup
  Team finished as second or third place and qualified to the FIFA World Cup
  Team finished as fourth place and qualified to the FIFA World Cup after winning an intercontinental play-off
   Team finished as fourth place and failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup after losing an intercontinental play-off
  Team finished as fourth place and did not qualify to the FIFA World Cup, as there was no intercontinental play-off slot for the tournament

All-time table

[edit | edit source]

3 points per win, 1 point per draw and 0 points per loss.

Team Totals Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United States 60 32 14 14 95 57 +38 110 30 24 3 3 61 18 43 75 30 8 11 11 34 39 −5 35
 Mexico 60 30 18 12 102 53 +49 108 30 22 6 2 70 16 54 72 30 8 12 10 32 37 −5 36
File:Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica 60 29 14 17 87 63 +24 101 30 21 7 2 57 21 36 70 30 8 7 15 30 42 −12 31
File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras 40 16 10 14 60 59 +1 58 20 11 4 5 38 22 16 37 20 5 6 9 22 37 −15 21
File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 40 8 6 26 32 74 –42 30 20 6 5 9 22 27 −5 23 20 2 1 17 10 47 −37 7
File:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica 30 5 12 13 19 39 –20 27 15 4 7 4 11 11 0 19 15 1 5 9 8 28 −20 8
File:Flag of Panama.svg Panama 30 4 11 15 23 45 –22 23 15 4 7 4 16 17 −1 19 15 0 4 11 7 28 −21 4
File:Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador 20 4 6 10 20 31 –11 18 10 4 4 2 16 12 4 16 10 0 2 8 4 19 −15 2
File:Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala 10 3 2 5 16 18 –2 11 5 3 1 1 10 5 5 10 5 0 1 4 6 13 −7 1
File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 10 1 3 6 5 20 –15 6 5 1 3 1 3 5 −2 6 5 0 0 5 2 15 −13 0

Team

[edit | edit source]

Individual

[edit | edit source]
#
goals 		Player Match Qualification
4 Mexico Francisco Fonseca  Mexico 5–2 File:Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala 2006
3 Mexico Carlos Hermosillo  Mexico 6–0 File:Flag of Jamaica.svg Jamaica 1998
3 Honduras Carlos Pavon File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras 3–1  Mexico 2002
3 United States Jozy Altidore  United States 3–0 File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Trinidad and Tobago 2010
3 United States Clint Dempsey  United States 6–0 File:Flag of Honduras (1949-2022).svg Honduras 2018

Top goalscorers

[edit | edit source]
Rank Player Goals
scored 		Matches
played 		Goals
per game 		Qualifications
1 Honduras Carlos Pavón 12 17 0.71 2002, 2010
2 United States Jozy Altidore 11 29 0.38 2010, 2014, 2018
3 Costa Rica Paulo Wanchope 10 20 0.50 1998, 2002, 2006
4 Honduras Carlo Costly 9 17 0.53 2010, 2014
Trinidad and Tobago Stern John 9 23 0.40 2002, 2006, 2010
6 Mexico Carlos Hermosillo 8 10 0.80 1998
Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco 8 19 0.42 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010
Costa Rica Álvaro Saborío 8 21 0.38 2006, 2010, 2014
United States Clint Dempsey 8 28 0.29 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
10 Mexico Jared Borgetti 7 14 0.50 2002, 2006
United States Landon Donovan 7 26 0.27 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014
12 Mexico Francisco Fonseca 6 9 0.66 2006
Costa Rica Bryan Ruiz 6 27 0.22 2010, 2014, 2018
14 Mexico Benjamín Galindo 5 8 0.62 1998
Costa Rica Rolando Fonseca 5 16 0.31 1998, 2002, 2006
United States Michael Bradley 5 24 0.21 2010, 2014, 2018
Costa Rica Celso Borges 5 26 0.20 2010, 2014, 2018
United States Christian Pulisic 5 10 0.50 2018

Top goalscorers by tournament

[edit | edit source]
Qualification Top scorer(s) Goals
France 1998 Mexico Carlos Hermosillo 8
South KoreaJapan 2002 Mexico Cuauhtémoc Blanco
Costa Rica Rolando Fonseca
Honduras Carlos Pavón 		5
Germany 2006 Mexico Francisco Fonseca 6
South Africa 2010 Honduras Carlos Pavón 7
Brazil 2014 Honduras Carlo Costly
Honduras Jerry Bengtson
United States Jozy Altidore 		4
Russia 2018 United States Christian Pulisic 5

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  9. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  10. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  14. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  15. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  17. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  18. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  19. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  22. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  23. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  24. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  25. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  26. ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Retrieved from "http://70.231.62.181/index.php?title=Hexagonal_(CONCACAF)&oldid=4810365"