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Canada draws Belize in next round of World Cup qualifying

The team will find out their opposition, as well as the dates for their home and away matches for the round, which will be drawn at random.

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At the preliminary draw in St. Petersburg, Russia, the Americans were placed in Group C of the semifinal round with Trinidad and Tobago.

The U.S.-led quartet will begin play November 7.

Three of the six CONCACAF finalists will earn automatic berths to the World Cup in Russian Federation.

Wales – aiming to reach their first finals since 1958 – are top seeds in Group D and will also play Republic of Ireland. A fourth will enter a two-game playoff against Asia’s fifth-place finisher in November 2017.

Both Honduras and Mexico will be favourites to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, as both were at the last tournament in Brazil.

There will be another draw for the final round of qualifying after the fourth round is over to determine the schedule and home and away dates. But it received an easier path than the other heavyweights by avoiding Honduras and Panama in the semifinal stage.

Roy Hodgson’s team have been drawn in Group G, and they will face Scotland in what promises to be two huge games, as well as Slovakia, Malta, Lithuania, and Slovenia.

In stark contract, Scotland have not qualified for the tournament since their 1998 appearance in France, while Northern Ireland haven’t played in the World Cup since 1982.

They are coming off of a recent dismantling of the Dominican Republic in round 2 of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying, who they beat 5-1 over two legs.

England won the World Cup in 1966, but their well-documented attempts to add to that title since then have fallen well short.

The other potential foes are ranked No. 115 (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and No. 135 (Aruba) in the world.

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That means when round four of qualifying opens up Canada will have to find an alternative venue to play their matches in, should they advance. Four years ago, the Americans played in Tampa (Antigua and Barbuda), Columbus (Jamaica) and Kansas City, Kan.

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