Two more Nashville SC players will represent their countries in the final round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying. Aníbal Godoy’s Panama and Alistair Johnston’s Canada both won their second round series to advance to the “Octagonal” round, where the top eight sides in Concacaf will fight for three-and-a-half spots in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Godoy played the full 90 minutes in both of Panama’s matches against Curaçao. Los Canaleros won the first leg 2-1 at home before holding on for a 0-0 draw on the road Tuesday night. Godoy earned his 102nd and 103rd international caps in this week’s qualifying action.
Johnston also started and played the full match in both of Canada’s matches against Haiti. In the first leg he played as a right-sided center back in their 3-4-3 system, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win. In the second leg, he played as a right wing back in a 3-0 win.
El Salvador won their series against St. Kitts and Nevis 6-0 on aggregate to finalize the third round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying.
Each side will play 14 qualifying matches from September 2021 through March 2022. The top three sides will automatically advance, while the fourth placed finisher will enter an inter-confederation playoff.
Panama qualified for their first World Cup in their history in 2018, where they lost all three group stages matches and conceded 11 goals to finish last in the competition. Canada have not qualified since 1986, where they also failed to win a match.
Both sides will play in this summer’s Gold Cup before their World Cup qualifying campaign resumes on September 2.
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