2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF first round
The first round of qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the CONCACAF section featured the 22 teams ranked 14 to 35 on the FIFA ranking for CONCACAF as of May 2007. The teams ranked 14th to 24th were randomly drawn against the teams ranked 25th to 35th. The draw took place on 25 November 2007 in Durban, South Africa. The top 13 CONCACAF teams received a bye and advanced directly to the second round.
Format
In this round, there were 12 sub-groups played as 11 ties of two teams, plus a bye for Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The winners and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines advanced to the second round to meet the highest ranked teams in their sub-groups, as determined by the preliminary draw. Further organisation was involved in the draw, with the 12 sub-groups drawn into three groups of four – each feeding into a separate third round group.[1] All ties were played in home and away format, except for three: Puerto Rico–Dominican Republic, Grenada–U.S. Virgin Islands and Montserrat–Suriname were played over one leg in late March due to several Member Associations failing to meet the new FIFA Stadium standards and being unable to secure a home venue.[2]
Puerto Rico advanced to play Honduras in the second round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Puerto Rico, as the Dominican Republic failed to meet FIFA's new stadium standards and was unable to secure a home venue.[2]
Grenada advanced to play Costa Rica in the second round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Grenada, as the U.S. Virgin Islands failed to meet FIFA's new stadium standards and was unable to secure a home venue.[2]
Suriname advanced to play Guyana in the second round. This tie was played as a one leg tie in Trinidad and Tobago, because neither side were able to provide a suitable venue according to FIFA's guidelines.[2]
^This tie was played as a one leg tie in Puerto Rico, as the Dominican Republic failed to meet FIFA's new stadium standards and was unable to secure a home venue.[2]
^The British Virgin Islands elected to play their home leg in the Bahamas. The order of the legs (that is, which team was regarded as the "home team" in each match) was determined from the original draw. In the final event, this became crucial in determining the winner of the tie due to the application of the away goals rule.[2]
^This tie was played as a one leg tie in Grenada, as the U.S. Virgin Islands failed to meet FIFA's new stadium standards and was unable to secure a home venue.[2]
^This tie was played as a one leg tie in Trinidad and Tobago, because neither side were able to provide a suitable venue according to FIFA's guidelines.[2]
^Played in the United States, because Anguilla's stadium was not a suitable venue.[3]