2026 CONCACAF U-20 Championship
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| Tournament details | |
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| Dates | 25 July – 9 August |
| Teams | 12 (from 1 confederation) |
← 2024 2028 → | |
The 2026 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship will be the ninth edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, the biennial men's international under-20 association football tournament organized by CONCACAF. The tournament will be held from 25 July through 9 August, though CONCACAF has not announced the host as of April 2026.
As with the 2024 edition, 12 teams will compete in three groups of four teams each followed by an eight-team knockout round. The tournament results will determine CONCACAF's representatives at the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, 2027 Pan American Games in Lima, and 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.[1]
Format
CONCACAF announced the tournament format in November 2026 (Sections 12.5–12.10):[1]
- Group stage: Twelve teams will be drawn into three groups of four teams to play single round-robin matches. Group winners, runners-up, and the two highest-ranked third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
- Knockout stage: The eight teams advancing from the group stage will be seeded with group winners ranked 1–3, runners-up 4–6, and third-place teams 7 and 8. The first- and eighth-seeded teams, the second- and seventh-seeded teams, the third- and sixth-seeded teams, and the fourth- and fifth-seeded teams will face off in quarter-finals 1–4, respectively. The winners of quarter-finals 1 and 4, and the winners of quarter-finals 2 and 3 will meet in the semi-finals, with the winners of those matches contesting the final.
The tournament will determine the CONCACAF participants in the following tournaments (Sections 5.2–5.3):[1]
- The four highest-placed teams affiliated with FIFA will qualify for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
- The tournament champion and the highest-placed teams from the Caribbean, Central American, and North American regions will qualify for the 2027 Pan American Games.
- The highest-placed team affiliated with the IOC will qualify for the 2028 Olympics. If that team is the United States, which has qualified as the host nation, then the second-highest placed team will qualify.
Group stage
Tiebreakers
Teams will be ranked on the following criteria (Section 12.7):[1]
- Greater number of points obtained in all matches
- Greater overall goal difference
- Greater overall number of goals scored
If two or more teams are tied, the following criteria will be applied:
- Greater number of points scored in matches between the tied teams
- Greater goal difference in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams are tied)
- Greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams are tied)
- Lower number of disciplinary points:
- First yellow card: 1 point
- Second yellow card/indirect red card: 3 points
- Direct red card: 4 points
- Yellow card and direct red card: 5 points
- Higher ranking in the CONCACAF Under-20 ranking published most recently before qualification started
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage | — | ||||
| 2 | A2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||
| 3 | A3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possible knockout stage | — | ||||
| 4 | A4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
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Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | B1 | B2 | B3 | B4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage | — | ||||
| 2 | B2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||
| 3 | B3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possible knockout stage | — | ||||
| 4 | B4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
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Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage | — | ||||
| 2 | C2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |||||
| 3 | C3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Possible knockout stage | — | ||||
| 4 | C4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
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Overall ranking of teams
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | A1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 2 | B | B1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | C | C1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | A | A2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 5 | B | B2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | C | C2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | A | A3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Knockout stage |
| 8 | B | B3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 9 | C | C3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 10 | A | A4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | B | B4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 12 | C | C4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Knockout stage
The eight teams advancing from the group stage will play a single-elimination tournament.
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| August 2026 | ||||||||||
| First group winner | ||||||||||
| August 2026 | ||||||||||
| Second group 3rd place | ||||||||||
| Winner quarter-final #1 | ||||||||||
| August 2026 | ||||||||||
| Winner quarter-final #4 | ||||||||||
| First group runner-up | ||||||||||
| August 2026 | ||||||||||
| Second group runner-up | ||||||||||
| Winner Semi-final #1 | ||||||||||
| August 2026 | ||||||||||
| Winner Semi-final #2 | ||||||||||
| Second group winner | ||||||||||
| August 2026 | ||||||||||
| First group 3rd place | ||||||||||
| Winner quarter-final #2 | ||||||||||
| August 2026 | ||||||||||
| Winner quarter-final #3 | ||||||||||
| Third group winner | ||||||||||
| Third group runner-up | ||||||||||
Quarter-finals
Winners qualify for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
| First group winner | v | Second group 3rd place |
|---|---|---|
| Second group winner | v | First group 3rd place |
|---|---|---|
| Third group winner | v | Third group runner-up |
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| First group runner-up | v | Second group runner-up |
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Semi-finals
| Winner QF #1 | v | Winner QF #4 |
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| Winner QF #2 | v | Winner QF #3 |
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Final
The winner will qualify for the 2027 Pan American Games and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
| Winner SF #1 | v | Winner SF #2 |
|---|---|---|