Nicaragua shock Jamaica in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying

A total of 12 teams will contest six, two-legged series to determine the teams that will join the six seeded sides in the next phase and Nicaragua put themselves in a strong position to advance when they host the Reggae Boyz on Tuesday.

Nicaragua, who won all four matches in the opening two rounds of the competition, raced out to a 3-0 lead with captain Manuel Rosas scoring from the penalty spot in the fifth minute, Carlos Chavarria finding the back of the net three minutes later and Luis Galeano striking in the 48th minute.

Jamaica, runners-up to Mexico in July's CONCACAF Gold Cup, attempted a late fightback with goals from Darren Mattocks (68th) and Adrian Mariappa (78) but it was not enough.

Canada, who have only once qualified for the World Cup in 1986, thumped Belize 3-0 with Tosaint Ricketts scoring on either side of the break and Atiba Hutchinson adding an injury time goal.

Haiti also scored a comfortable 3-1 away win over Grenada. Jean Eudes Maurice, Mechack Jerome and Duckens Nazon each had a goal for Haiti while Anthony Straker scored from the penalty spot for Grenada.

In other action, Myles Weston's 72nd minute penalty earned Antigua and Barbuda a 1-0 win over Guatemala while Larin's goal in the 12th minute stood up as the winner as El Salvador beat Curacao 1-0.

Saint Vincent were a 2-0 winners over Aruba.