There were wins for the three favoured teams during Round 2 first leg matches of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ qualifying in the Concacaf zone on Saturday.

Canada and El Salvador picked up away victories to be in a strong position ahead of Tuesday’s return, but Panama’s tight 2-1 home win leaves opponents Curaçao with cause for optimism.

St. Kitts and Nevis 0-4 El Salvador Haiti 0-1 Canada Panama 2-1 Curaçao

In-form El Salvador have one hand on a spot in the final stage of Concacaf qualifying after a one-sided 4-0 win over surprise qualifiers St. Kitts and Nevis. David Rugamas maintained his goalscoring form to help the two-time World Cup finalists stretch their unbeaten run in competition matches to nine.

Canada were made to work significantly harder to quell a resilient Haiti in Port Au Prince. A lone first-half strike from the lethal Cyle Larin proved the difference with the striker having now bagged six goals in his last five outings.

Russia 2018 participants Panama face a nervy return leg in Willemstad as unheralded Curaçao left Panama City with a slim one-goal defeat and a potentially invaluable away goal. Rangelo Janga netted in the dying minutes for the visitors after Panama had scored twice in the second half.

The three winners will join Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico and USA in the newly-expanded Octagonal.

📸Photos courtesy Federación Salvadoreña de Fútbol (@LaSelectaSLV) and Federación Panameña de Fútbol (@Fepafut)