Hexagonal (CONCACAF)

In association football, the term Hexagonal (known in English as The Hex[1]) was often used to refer to the final round of FIFA World Cup qualification among the six remaining teams in CONCACAF.[2] The six-team round robin format was used by CONCACAF since the 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification process, up until the 2018 tournament. For 2022, this round was expanded to eight teams or an octagonal. It was modeled after the CONCACAF Championship which used the format ever since its second edition in 1965, and served as the World Cup qualifying tournament from 1974 to 1990.

The United States, Mexico and Costa Rica were present in every Hexagonal.[3] Mexico was the only national team that qualified for the FIFA World Cup in every Hexagonal.

The Hexagonal, or Hex for short, was named for the hexagon (a six sided shape) due to there being six teams remaining in the tournament at the time.[4]

United States vs. Mexico rivalry
See also: Mexico–United States soccer rivalry

The United States and Mexico were the most successful teams in the Hexagonal, with Mexico qualifying for every World Cup since 1994. Indeed, the Mexico–United States soccer rivalry has been hotly contested during the Hexagonal. Matches between the two opponents hosted by Mexico often sell out the 100,000 seat Estadio Azteca in Mexico City; matches hosted in the United States are often held in cold northern cities such as Columbus, Ohio.

1998
Main article: 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round

The first hexagonal round was played in 1997, between 2 March and 16 November. Mexico topped the round robin undefeated, being the only team to do so.[5] Jamaica qualified to their first (and so far, only) FIFA World Cup.[6] It was Canada's only participation in the hexagonal round, and their last appearance at the final stage of a FIFA World Cup qualification.[7]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Mexico 10 4 6 0 23 7 +16 18 Qualification to 1998 FIFA World Cup — 0–0 6–0 3–3 5–0 4–0
2  United States 10 4 5 1 17 9 +8 17 2–2 — 1–1 1–0 4–2 3–0
3  Jamaica 10 3 5 2 7 6 +1 14 0–0 0–0 — 1–0 1–0 1–0
4  Costa Rica 10 3 3 4 13 12 +1 12 0–0 3–2 3–1 — 0–0 3–1
5  El Salvador 10 2 4 4 11 16 −5 10 0–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 — 4–1
6  Canada 10 1 3 6 5 20 −15 6 2–2 0–3 0–0 1–0 0–0 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers

2002
Main article: 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF final round

The second edition of The Hex was played in 2001, between 28 February and 11 November. It was topped by Costa Rica, who totaled a record 23 points.[8] The Costa Ricans marked the first defeat Mexico ever had at a World Cup qualification match at home soil, in a match known as El Aztecazo.[9]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Costa Rica 10 7 2 1 17 7 +10 23 Qualified to the 2002 FIFA World Cup — 0–0 2–0 2–2 2–1 3–0
2  Mexico 10 5 2 3 16 9 +7 17 1–2 — 1–0 3–0 4–0 3–0
3  United States 10 5 2 3 11 8 +3 17 1–0 2–0 — 2–3 2–1 2–0
4  Honduras 10 4 2 4 17 17 0 14 2–3 3–1 1–2 — 1–0 0–1
5  Jamaica 10 2 2 6 7 14 −7 8 0–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 — 1–0
6  Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 2 7 5 18 −13 5 0–2 1–1 0–0 2–4 1–2 —
Source: FIFA

2006
Main article: 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United States 10 7 1 2 16 6 +10 22[lower-alpha 1] — 2–0 3–0 1–0 2–0 2–0
 Mexico 10 7 1 2 22 9 +13 22[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 — 2–0 2–0 5–2 5–0
 Costa Rica 10 5 1 4 15 14 +1 16 3–0 1–2 — 2–0 3–2 2–1
 Trinidad and Tobago 10 4 1 5 10 15 −5 13 1–2 2–1 0–0 — 3–2 2–0
 Guatemala 10 3 2 5 16 18 −2 11 0–0 0–2 3–1 5–1 — 2–1
 Panama 10 0 2 8 4 21 −17 2 0–3 1–1 1–3 0–1 0–0 —
Source:
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: United States +1, Mexico −1.
  • United States finished ahead of Mexico based on results between tied teams which were the first tiebreaker.
  • Mexico, United States and Costa Rica directly advanced to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
  • Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the AFC-CONCACAF play-off, where they would defeat Bahrain 2–1 on aggregate to advance to the World Cup.

2010
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round

The six teams that reached the fourth round formed one double-round-robin, home-and-away group nicknamed the "Hexagonal." The top three teams qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The fourth place team qualified for a home-and-away play-off against the fifth-place team from CONMEBOL.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United States (Q) 10 6 2 2 19 13 +6 20 — 2–0 2–1 2–2 2–1 3–0
 Mexico (Q) 10 6 1 3 18 12 +6 19 2–1 — 1–0 2–0 4–1 2–1
 Honduras (Q) 10 5 1 4 17 11 +6 16 2–3 3–1 — 4–0 1–0 4–1
 Costa Rica (A) 10 5 1 4 15 15 0 16 3–1 0–3 2–0 — 1–0 4–0
 El Salvador 10 2 2 6 9 15 −6 8 2–2 2–1 0–1 1–0 — 2–2
 Trinidad and Tobago 10 1 3 6 10 22 −12 6 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–3 1–0 —
Source:
(Q) The United States, Mexico and Honduras qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; (A) Costa Rica advanced to the CONMEBOL–CONCACAF play-off.

2014
Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round

In the fourth round, the three group winners and three runners-up from the third round competed in a double round robin, including a home and away match against the other five teams between 6 February and 15 October 2013. The draw for 'The Hex' was conducted by FIFA on 7 November 2012.[10]

The top three teams qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, while the fourth-placed team will play a home-away series against New Zealand, the winner of Oceania. Teams are ranked first by total points in all games, then, if tied, by best goal differential in all games, then by total goals in all games. If still tied, the same criteria are applied to games among the tied teams.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
 United States 10 7 1 2 15 8 +7 22 Qualification to 2014 FIFA World Cup — 1–0 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–0
 Costa Rica 10 5 3 2 13 7 +6 18 3–1 — 1–0 2–1 2–0 2–0
 Honduras 10 4 3 3 13 12 +1 15 2–1 1–0 — 2–2 2–2 2–0
 Mexico 10 2 5 3 7 9 −2 11 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs 0–0 0–0 1–2 — 2–1 0–0
 Panama 10 1 5 4 10 14 −4 8 2–3 2–2 2–0 0–0 — 0–0
 Jamaica 10 0 5 5 5 13 −8 5 1–2 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 —
Source:

2018
Main article: 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fifth Round
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Mexico 10 6 3 1 16 7 +9 21 Qualification to 2018 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–1 3–1
2  Costa Rica 10 4 4 2 14 8 +6 16 1–1 — 0–0 1–1 4–0 2–1
3  Panama 10 3 4 3 9 10 −1 13 0–0 2–1 — 2–2 1–1 3–0
4  Honduras 10 3 4 3 13 19 −6 13 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs 3–2 1–1 0–1 — 1–1 3–1
5  United States 10 3 3 4 17 13 +4 12 1–2 0–2 4–0 6–0 — 2–0
6  Trinidad and Tobago 10 2 0 8 7 19 −12 6 0–1 0–2 1–0 1–2 2–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Qualification tiebreakers
  • Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama qualified directly for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
  • Honduras advanced to the CONCACAF–AFC playoff; they would be defeated by Australia 3–1 on aggregate.
  • The United States failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since the Hexagonal was introduced; they had qualified for every World Cup between 1990 and 2014.

Replacement

The Hexagonal was initially the top-seeded round in the CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup,[11] but, following FIFA's decision on 25 June 2020 to postpone the September international window due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CONCACAF noted that "The challenges presented by postponements to the football calendar, and the incomplete FIFA rankings cycle in our confederation, means our current World Cup qualifying process has been compromised and will be changed."[12] The confederation eventually announced on 27 July its new qualifying format for the World Cup, replacing the Hexagonal with an eight-team final round.[13]

Records

Ranking teams
TeamFirst PlaceRunner-upThird PlaceFourth PlaceFifth PlaceSixth PlaceTimes
Qualified
 Mexico 2 (1998, 2018) 3 (2002, 2006, 2010) 1 (2014^) 6
 United States 3 (2006, 2010, 2014) 1 (1998) 1 (2002) 1 (2018) 5
 Costa Rica 1 (2002) 2 (2014, 2018) 1 (2006) 2 (1998, 2010*) 4
 Honduras 2 (2010, 2014) 2 (2002, 2018*) 2
 Jamaica 1 (1998) 1 (2002) 1 (2014) 1
 Panama 1 (2018) 1 (2014) 1 (2006) 1
 Trinidad and Tobago 1 (2006^) 3 (2002, 2010, 2018) 1
 El Salvador 2 (1998, 2010) 0
 Guatemala 1 (2006) 0
 Canada 1 (1998) 0
* = The team qualified to Inter-confederation play-offs (Since 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification, the 4th qualifies to play-offs).
^ = The team qualified for World Cup by winning the playoff.

All-time table

3 points per win, 1 point per draw and 0 points per loss.

Team Totals Home Away
P W D L GF GA +/- Pts P W D L GF GA +/- Pts P W D L GF GA +/- Pts
 United States 60 32 14 14 95 57 +38 110 30 24 3 3 61 18 43 75 30 8 11 11 34 39 −5 35
 Mexico 60 30 18 12 102 53 +49 108 30 22 6 2 70 16 54 72 30 8 12 10 32 37 −5 36
 Costa Rica 60 29 14 17 87 63 +24 101 30 21 7 2 57 21 36 70 30 8 7 15 30 42 −12 31
 Honduras 40 16 10 14 60 59 1 58 20 11 4 5 38 22 16 37 20 5 6 9 22 37 −15 21
 Trinidad and Tobago 40 8 6 26 32 74 –42 30 20 6 5 9 22 27 −5 23 20 2 1 17 10 47 −37 7
 Jamaica 30 5 12 13 19 39 –20 27 15 4 7 4 11 11 0 19 15 1 5 9 8 28 −20 8
 Panama 30 4 11 15 23 45 –22 23 15 4 7 4 16 17 −1 19 15 0 4 11 7 28 −21 4
 El Salvador 20 4 6 10 20 31 –11 18 10 4 4 2 16 12 4 16 10 0 2 8 4 19 −15 2
 Guatemala 10 3 2 5 16 18 –2 11 5 3 1 1 10 5 5 10 5 0 1 4 6 13 −7 1
 Canada 10 1 3 6 5 20 –15 6 5 1 3 1 3 5 −2 6 5 0 0 5 2 15 −13 0

Team
  • Most drawn matches in a tournament:  Mexico, 6 (1998).
  • Fewest drawn matches in a tournament:  Trinidad and Tobago, 0 (2018).
  • Most lost matches in a tournament:  Panama, 8 (2006).
  • Fewest lost matches in a tournament:  Mexico, 0 (1998).
  • Most points in a tournament:  Costa Rica, 23 (2002).
  • Fewest points in a tournament:  Panama, 2 (2006).
  • Most goals scored in a tournament:  Mexico, 23 (1998).
  • Fewest goals scored in a tournament:  Panama, 4 (2006).
  • Best goal difference in a tournament:  Mexico, +16 (1998).
  • Worst goal difference in a tournament:  Panama, -17 (2006).

Individual
#
goals		 Player Match Qualification
4 Francisco Fonseca Mexico 5-2  Guatemala2006
3 Carlos Hermosillo Mexico 6-0  Jamaica1998
3 Carlos Pavon Honduras 3-1  Mexico2002
3 Jozy Altidore United States 3-0  Trinidad and Tobago2010
3 Clint Dempsey United States 6-0  Honduras2018

Top goalscorers
Rank Player Goals
scored		 Matches
played		 Goals
per game 		Qualifications
1 Carlos Pavón12170.712002, 2010
2 Jozy Altidore11290.382010, 2014, 2018
3 Paulo Wanchope10200.501998, 2002, 2006
4 Carlo Costly9170.532010, 2014
Stern John9230.402002, 2006, 2010
6 Carlos Hermosillo8100.801998
Cuauhtémoc Blanco8190.421998, 2002, 2006, 2010
Álvaro Saborío8210.382006, 2010, 2014
Clint Dempsey8280.292006, 2010, 2014, 2018
10 Jared Borgetti7140.502002, 2006
Landon Donovan7260.272002, 2006, 2010, 2014
12 Francisco Fonseca690.662006
Bryan Ruiz6270.222010, 2014, 2018
14 Benjamín Galindo580.621998
Rolando Fonseca5160.311998, 2002, 2006
Michael Bradley5240.212010, 2014, 2018
Celso Borges5260.202010, 2014, 2018
Christian Pulisic5100.502018

Top goalscorers by tournament
Qualification Top scorer(s) Goals
1998 Carlos Hermosillo 8
2002 Cuauhtémoc Blanco
Rolando Fonseca
Carlos Pavón		 5
2006 Francisco Fonseca 6
2010 Carlos Pavón 7
2014 Carlo Costly
Jerry Bengtson
Jozy Altidore		 4
2018 Christian Pulisic 5

References
  1. "Vexed by the Hex? A Simple Guide to the Final Round of World Cup Qualifying". USSoccer.com. United States Soccer Federation. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  2. "Whitecaps FC players set for important World Cup qualifying matches". WhiteCapsFC.com. 11 October 2012. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  3. Solano, Jeison (9 September 2016). "Las selecciones con mayor cantidad de presencias en la hexagonal final de Concacaf". Diario Diez. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  4. "What is the Hex?". Major League Soccer. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  5. Cortés, José Antonio (6 February 2013). "El Hexagonal no es un bombón". ESPN Deportes. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  6. "Jamaican footballing names that should not be forgotten". The Jamaica Observer. 2 October 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  7. Hernandez, Dan. "Why Canada Will Make the Hex This Time". Waking the Red. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  8. "Solo un Aztecazo". Al Día. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  9. "Costa Rica, autor del primer 'Aztecazo' de la historia". Récord. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  10. "World Cup qualifying - draw set for CONCACAF 'hex' round - ESPN FC". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 19 Oct 2012. Retrieved 6 Nov 2012.
  11. "Concacaf Announces Format for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Confederation Qualifiers". Concacaf. 10 July 2019.
  12. "CONCACAF confirms 2022 World Cup qualifying will change". TSN. Canadian Press. 25 June 2020.
  13. "New Concacaf Qualifiers announced for regional qualification to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022". Concacaf. 27 July 2020.
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