A World Cup dream almost realized, Canada sits on the precipice of Qatar 2022

After a perfect qualifying window with a trio of 2-0 games, Canada sits on the precipice of its first World Cup berth since 1986.

With three matches remaining, Canada remains atop the CONCACAF Octagon, four points clear of both Mexico and the United States. But it's the buffer between them and fourth place that is most important. The top three teams in the CONCACAF table get automatic berths to Qatar 2022, with the fourth-place team being forced to settle for a do-or-die intercontinental playoff against a team from Oceania for one of the final World Cup spots.

(An aside: the Oceania Football Confederation's qualification tournament works differently than most others due to its small size. The OFC is not awarded an automatic berth, so the intercontinental playoff is the only opportunity for its teams to qualify for Qatar. The next window will determine the Oceania representative in the playoff. Eight remaining teams have been split into two groups and will play three round-robin games. The winner of Group A will meet the runner-up in Group B and the Group B winner takes on the Group A runner-up in the same final stage. The two teams that emerge will face off on Mar. 30 for top spot. All of these matches will be played in Qatar. Group A features the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands. Group B is comprised of New Zealand, the heavy favourite, New Caledonia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea.)

Currently, Panama is in fourth, sitting on 17 points, four back of the USMNT and El Tri for an automatic spot and eight behind the CanMNT. With only nine points left for the taking, Canada's qualification is virtually assured, but there are a couple of scenarios in which Canada could be forced into the intercontinental