The last two qualifying windows for the 2022 Concacaf World Cup will feature something the first three did not: VAR.
The The region’s governing body said on Wednesday which will implement video assistant referees in the remaining six qualifying days, altering the calculation for the eight teams more than halfway across the octagon.
Concacaf had been criticized for not having VAR ready for the start of qualifying given the stakes in the competition. His reasoning at the time was that there were not enough venues in enough competing countries that could support the technology, nor were there enough VAR-qualified referees. Those issues are no longer a factor, according to a statement released Wednesday.
“By 2022, Concacaf can now confirm that it has a large enough pool of VAR-qualified referees and VAR-certified venues, giving the confederation the resources to further implement the technology in the men’s and women’s tournaments taking place during the year,” Concacaf wrote. .
VAR will also be available at the upcoming W Championship, the U-20 men’s and women’s tournaments, and the Concacaf Champions League this year.
The initial decision to proceed without VAR was criticized by US coach Gregg Berhalter at the time, who cited the region’s ability to field the technology in Nations League and Gold Cup competitions.
“I think it’s a mistake. I think it’s a Concacaf mistake. I’m going to speak freely and say that,” Berhalter said before the start of qualifying in September. “That’s part of the game, VAR, I think it was great that they implemented it in the Nations League and Gold Cup, and it’s disappointing that it’s not part of qualifying.
“That’s where the modern game is headed. We want to keep up with the rest of the world, our region, in terms of quality and technology, and we need to find a way to do that. I will say that’s disappointing, but there won’t be VAR for everyone. the teams involved. So we’ll deal with that and move on.”
Ironically, the absence of VAR may have helped the US secure a point in their most recent qualifying game. Damion Lowe’s late goal for Jamaica vs. The US was ruled out for what the referees identified as a foul by Lowe on US defender Walker Zimmerman during a corner kick. Replays showed that the call may have been harsh, although there is no guarantee that had VAR been in place it would have overruled the call, and the match ended in a 1–1 draw.
Qualifying resumes next week, with the US hosting El Salvador in Columbus, Ohio as part of a hat-trick on January 27. The remaining matches in the window will take place on January 30 and February 2.
Canada, the US and Mexico currently occupy the top three spots in the table, while Panama ranks fourth. The top three teams at the bottom of the standings automatically go to the World Cup, while the fourth-place team goes to a one-match intercontinental playoff against Oceania’s representative in Qatar in June.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.