The Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers are upon us. And for those of us in the United States, there's one place to watch them — Paramount Plus.
The first games kick off on March 24. There are three rounds of qualifying in all, and the top five teams in the Concacaf region — that awkwardly stands for Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football — don't have to play until the final round. And that means that you won't see the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Jamaica or Honduras until that final round.
But that doesn't mean there's now football to be watched. There are 16 games through March 30, all on Paramount Plus.
“We’re excited to make Paramount Plus the home of Concacaf Men’s World Cup Qualifiers and look forward to bringing these intense and competitive national team competitions to fans,” said Jeffrey Gerttula, Executive Vice President and General Manager, CBS Sports Digital. “With the addition of these qualifiers, Paramount Plus will be the destination for a diverse and passionate fanbase eager to cheer for their national teams on the road to the FIFA World Cup.”
The initial two rounds see the teams drawn into six groups of five. They then play single round-robin matches (two home and two away). The group winners advance to the next round. Round 2 sees those group winners play in a two-legged home-and-away series. Whoever scores the most goals over two games advances to play the top five teams in the final round.
Round 3 will see another home-and-away series, with matches played later this year.
The Qatar World Cup is scheduled for Nov. 21-Dec. 18, 2022.
Here's the full slate of first-round Concacaf games:
- March 24: Dominican Republic vs. Dominica, 7:05 p.m.
- March 24: Guatemala vs. Cuba, 8:05 p.m.
- March 25: Haiti vs. Belize, 5 p.m.
- March 25: Curaçao vs. St. Vincent & the Grenadines, 6:05 p.m.
- March 25: Trinidad & Tobago vs. Guyana, 7:05 p.m.
- March 25: Panama vs. Barbados, 7:55 p.m.
- March 25: El Salvador vs. Grenada, 10:25 p.m.
- March 27: Turks & Caicos Islands vs. Nicaragua, 4:35 p.m.
- March 27: British Virgin Islands vs. Guatemala, 6:05 p.m.
- March 27: Anguilla vs. Dominican Republic, 6:05 p.m.
- March 27: Aruba vs. Suriname, 8:05 p.m.
- March 28: Dominica vs. Panama, 4:05 p.m.
- March 28: Cayman Islands vs. Canada, 4:05 p.m.
- March 28: Puerto Rico vs. Trinidad & Tobago, 5:05 p.m.
- March 28: Montserrat vs. El Salvador, 6:05 p.m
- March 30: Barbados vs. Anguilla, 7:35 p.m.
Paramount Plus price in the US
- Paramount Plus essential plan — from $4.99 monthly, or $49.99 per year
So long as you don't mind advertising, you can watch the Paramount Plus essential plan for as little as $4.99 per month.
Do note that there's a catch with the $4.99 version of Paramount Plus (as well as the ads) — it doesn't include a live stream of your local CBS affiliate. - Paramount Plus premium plan — from $9.99 monthly, or $99.99 per year
If you can't stand ads (who can, really?) and want to get rid of most of them, the premium tier runs $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year. - Paramount Plus/Showtime subscription plan — from $12 monthly (with ads), $15 (no ads)
This is similar to a previous bundle option for Paramount and Showtime.
Soccer isn't the only live sport on Paramount Plus. You'll also be able to watch regional NFL games, as well as the Champions League and other football.
The streaming service is also home to a host of new Paramount Plus original series, some of which include the ever-expanding Yellowstone universe, the bulk of the Star Trek universe and the Mission: Impossible series.
