Vincy Heat faces Guatemala in WC Qualifier opener

St. Vincent and the Grenadines senior Men’s Football team Vincy Heat has been drawn in Group E of Round Two of the CONCACAF Zone of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, and will face Guatemala in its opening fixture in Guatemala City, Friday, September 2.{{more}}

St. Vincent and the Grenadines then hosts Grenada four days later on Tuesday, September 6.

The Vincentians are in action again on Friday, October 7, in their return leg here against the Guatemalans and play Grenada in Grenada, Tuesday, September 11.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines engages in its away match in Belize, Friday, November 11, with the return leg set for here, Tuesday, November 15.

The CONCACAF and the other groups were known last Saturday, when the draw was made in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, the host country of the 2014 Finals.

It will be the first time that St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be meeting Guatemala and Belize at the senior level.

The only meeting with either of the two was an Under-16 Quarter Finals between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Guatemala in the inaugural Youth Caribbean Cup in Trinidad and Tobago in 2005.

Grenada, which has made it to the last two recent CONCACAF Gold Cups ,after its placing in the annual Digicel Caribbean Cup heads the group.

Group A has El Salvador, Surinam, Cayman Islands and Dominican Republic, with Group B to be contested by Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Barbados and Bermuda

Group C consists of Panama, Dominica, Nicaragua and the Bahamas, while Group D is made up of Canada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico and St Lucia, and Group F sees Haiti, Antigua and Barbuda, Curacao and US Virgin Islands.

Belize, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda, St. Lucia and the US Virgin Islands were the qualifiers from the first round ties, while the other 24 sat out, awaiting the group stage.

Round Three will see the winners of Group E and Group F, joining the USA and Jamaica in Group A, with Group B seeing Mexico, Costa Rica, and the winners of Group A and Group B. Honduras, Cuba and the winners of Group C and Group D, will make up Group C.

The top places of the three groups then enter a hexagonal play off for the three automatic CONCACAF places in the Brazil extravaganza.

CONCACAF can get another possible place, via the inter-confederation play-offs against the Oceania winner.