2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
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 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 22 March 2024 – 18 November 2025 |
| Teams | 32 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 99 |
| Goals scored | 309 (3.12 per match) |
| Attendance | 794,013 (8,020 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Óscar Santis Duckens Nazon(6 goals each) |
← 2022 2030 → | |
| CONCACAF Qualifiers |
|---|
The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Three direct slots and two inter-confederation play-off slots in the final tournament were available for CONCACAF teams.
On 9 May 2017, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which included six direct spots and two inter-confederation play-off spots for the CONCACAF region. However, in a change of format from previous World Cups, there would be no dedicated host country slot, with the slots of automatically qualifying host countries now taken from the quota of its confederation. If the tournament were to be co-hosted, the FIFA Council would decide which host countries would qualify automatically.[1] On 13 June 2018, three members of CONCACAF—Canada, Mexico and the United States—were selected as hosts for the 2026 World Cup by the 68th FIFA Congress.[2]
On 14 February 2023, the FIFA Council awarded automatic berths for all three host countries, leaving three direct slots and two inter-confederation play-off slots to be decided through CONCACAF qualification.[3] On 28 February, CONCACAF announced the qualifying format for 2026 World Cup qualification.[4]
- First round: Four CONCACAF teams, ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA rankings of December 2023, were divided into two matchups, played on a two-legged home-and-away basis. The two winners advanced to the second round.
- Second round: Thirty teams, the two winners from the first round and CONCACAF teams ranked 1 to 28 based on the FIFA rankings of December 2023, were drawn into six groups of five teams. They played single round-robin matches (two home and two away), with group winners and runners-up advancing to the third round.
- Third round: The twelve teams advancing from the second round were drawn into three groups of four teams. They played double round-robin home-and-away matches, with the three group winners qualifying for the World Cup. The two best-ranked runners-up advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Entrants
As Canada, Mexico, and the United States were awarded automatic berths as co-hosts, they did not enter qualifying. All the remaining 32 FIFA-affiliated national teams from CONCACAF entered qualification. Based on the FIFA rankings of December 2023, the top 28 teams received a bye to the second round, while the lowest four teams entered the first round.[5]
| Second round pot 1 | Second round pot 2 | Second round pot 3 |
|---|---|---|
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| Second round pot 4 | Second round pot 5 | Competed in first round |
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Note: Teams in italics competed only in the first round.
Schedule
The CONCACAF schedule for qualification was as follows:[4]
| Round | Matchday | Dates[7] |
|---|---|---|
| First round | First leg | 22 March 2024 |
| Second leg | 26 March 2024 | |
| Second round | Window 1 | 5–11 June 2024 |
| Window 2 | 4–10 June 2025 | |
| Third round | Matchday 1 | 4–5 September 2025 |
| Matchday 2 | 8–9 September 2025 | |
| Matchday 3 | 9–10 October 2025 | |
| Matchday 4 | 13–14 October 2025 | |
| Matchday 5 | 13 November 2025 | |
| Matchday 6 | 18 November 2025 |
First round
The bottom four CONCACAF teams, ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA rankings of December 2023, were divided into two matchups to be played on a two-legged home-and-away basis. The pairings were predetermined, with the 29th ranked team facing the 32nd ranked team, and the 30th ranked team facing the 31st ranked team. The two winners advanced to the second round.[4]
| Team 1 | Agg. Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Anguilla  | 1–1 (4–3 p) |  Turks and Caicos Islands | 0–0 | 1–1 (a.e.t.) |
U.S. Virgin Islands  | 1–1 (2–4 p) |  British Virgin Islands | 1–1 | 0–0 (a.e.t.) |
Second round
Third round
In the third round, the twelve teams advancing from the second round were drawn into three groups of four teams to play round-robin home-and-away matches. The three group winners qualified for the World Cup, and the two best-ranked runners-up advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs.[4] The draw for the third round was held on 12 June 2025, 19:00 EDT.[10]
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
 |
|
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama |
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 12 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| 2 | Suriname |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 9 | Inter-confederation play-offs | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | |
| 3 | Guatemala |
6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 7 | +1 | 8 | 2–3 | 3–1 | — | 0–1 | ||
| 4 | El Salvador |
6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |  |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curaçao |
6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 3 | +10 | 12 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | |
| 2 | Jamaica |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 11 | Inter-confederation play-offs | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 4–0 | |
| 3 | Trinidad and Tobago |
6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 7 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 4 | Bermuda |
6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 23 | −19 | 1 | 0–7 | 0–4 | 0–3 | — |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | |
 |
 |
 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haiti |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 11 | 2026 FIFA World Cup | — | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | |
| 2 | Honduras |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 | 3–0 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Costa Rica |
6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 7 | 3–3 | 0–0 | — | 4–1 | ||
| 4 | Nicaragua |
6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 12 | −8 | 4 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — |
Ranking of second-placed teams
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B | Jamaica |
6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 11 | Advance to inter-confederation play-offs |
| 2 | A | Suriname |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 9 | |
| 3 | C | Honduras |
6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 9 |
Inter-confederation play-offs
The two best runners-up from the third round, Jamaica and Suriname, joined Bolivia (from CONMEBOL), DR Congo (from CAF), Iraq (from AFC), and New Caledonia (from OFC) in the inter-confederation play-offs.
The teams were ranked according to the November 2025 FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners met the two highest-ranked teams in another set of single-elimination matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[11]
| Semi-final | Final | |||||
| 31 March 2026 – Zapopan | ||||||
 DR Congo (a.e.t.) | 1 | |||||
| 26 March 2026 – Zapopan | ||||||
| Jamaica | 0 | |||||
 New Caledonia | 0 | |||||
| Jamaica | 1 | |||||
| Semi-final | Final | |||||
| 31 March 2026 – Guadalupe | ||||||
 Iraq | 2 | |||||
| 26 March 2026 – Guadalupe | ||||||
 Bolivia | 1 | |||||
| Bolivia | 2 | |||||
| Suriname | 1 | |||||
