2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

	Future Event This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events. It may contain tentative information; the content may change as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)

Tournament details
Dates	March 2024 – November 2025
Teams	32 (from 1 confederation)
← 2022 2030 →

The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification will act 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.

Format

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. 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.

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. On 28 February, CONCACAF announced the qualifying format for 2026 World Cup qualification.

• First round: Four CONCACAF teams, ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA rankings of November 2023, will be divided into two matchups, played on a two-legged home-and-away basis. The two winners will advance 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 November 2023, will be drawn into six groups of five teams. They will play single round-robin matches (two home and two away), with group winners and runners-up qualifying for the third round.
• Third round: The twelve teams advancing from the second round will be drawn into three groups of four teams. They will play double round-robin home-and-away matches, with the three group winners qualifying for the World Cup. The two best-ranked runners-up will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants

As Canada, Mexico and the United States were awarded automatic berths as co-hosts, they will not enter qualifying. The remaining 32 FIFA-affiliated national teams from CONCACAF entered qualification. Based on the FIFA rankings of November 2023, the top 28 teams will receive a bye to the second round, while the lowest four teams will enter the first round.

• Anguilla
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Aruba
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Belize
• Bermuda
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Costa Rica
• Cuba
• Curaçao
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• El Salvador
• Grenada
• Guatemala
• Guyana
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Jamaica
• Montserrat
• Nicaragua
• Panama
• Puerto Rico
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Suriname
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• United States Virgin Islands

Schedule

The CONCACAF schedule for qualification is as follows.

Round	Matchday	FIFA window
First round	First leg	18–26 March 2024
	Second leg
Second round	Window 1	3–11 June 2024
	Window 2	2–10 June 2025
Third round	Matchday 1	1–9 September 2025
	Matchday 2
	Matchday 3	6–14 October 2025
	Matchday 4
	Matchday 5	10–18 November 2025
	Matchday 6

First round

The bottom four CONCACAF teams, ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA rankings of November 2023, will be divided into two matchups, played on a two-legged home-and-away basis. The pairings are predetermined, with the 29th ranked team facing the 32nd ranked team, and the 30th ranked team facing the 31st ranked team. The two winners will advance to the second round.

Team #1	Agg.	Team #2	1st leg	2nd leg
32nd ranked team		29th ranked team	Mar '24	Mar '24
31st ranked team		30th ranked team	Mar '24	Mar '24

Second round

The top twenty-eight CONCACAF teams in the FIFA rankings of November 2023 will enter in the second round, to be joined by the two winners of the first round. Teams will be drawn into six groups of five teams, and will play single round-robin matches (two home and two away). The six group winners and six group runners-up will advance to the third round.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		A1	A2	A3	A4	A5
1	A1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to third round		—	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	A2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	A3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	TBD	TBD
4	A4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	TBD
5	A5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	—

First match(es) will be played on June 2024. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		B1	B2	B3	B4	B5
1	B1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to third round		—	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	B2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	B3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	TBD	TBD
4	B4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	TBD
5	B5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	—

First match(es) will be played on June 2024. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		C1	C2	C3	C4	C5
1	C1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to third round		—	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	C2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	C3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	TBD	TBD
4	C4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	TBD
5	C5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	—

First match(es) will be played on June 2024. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		D1	D2	D3	D4	D5
1	D1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to third round		—	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	D2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	D3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	TBD	TBD
4	D4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	TBD
5	D5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	—

First match(es) will be played on June 2024. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group E

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		E1	E2	E3	E4	E5
1	E1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to third round		—	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	E2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	E3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	TBD	TBD
4	E4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	TBD
5	E5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	—

First match(es) will be played on June 2024. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Group F

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		F1	F2	F3	F4	F5
1	F1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to third round		—	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	F2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	TBD	TBD	TBD
3	F3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	TBD	TBD
4	F4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	TBD
5	F5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			—	—	—	—	—

First match(es) will be played on June 2024. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Third round

In the third round, the twelve teams advancing from the second round will be drawn into three groups of four teams. They will play double round-robin home-and-away matches, with the three group winners qualifying for the World Cup. The two best-ranked runners-up will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

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	Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	A2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible inter-confederation play-offs based on ranking		TBD	—	TBD	TBD
3	A3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
4	A4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on September 2025. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

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	Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	B2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible inter-confederation play-offs based on ranking		TBD	—	TBD	TBD
3	B3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
4	B4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on September 2025. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

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	Qualification for 2026 FIFA World Cup		—	TBD	TBD	TBD
2	C2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible inter-confederation play-offs based on ranking		TBD	—	TBD	TBD
3	C3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	—	TBD
4	C4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0			TBD	TBD	TBD	—

First match(es) will be played on September 2025. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Ranking of second-placed teams

Pos	Grp	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	A	Second place Group A	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to inter-confederation play-offs
2	B	Second place Group B	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	C	Second place Group C	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

First match(es) will be played on September 2025. Source: CONCACAF
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Inter-confederation play-offs

Main article: 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)

The best two runners-up from the third round will join one team each from AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC in the inter-confederation play-offs. The teams will be ranked according to the FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two single-elimination matches. The winners will meet 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.

Qualified teams

The following teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.

Team	Qualified as	Qualified on	Previous appearances in FIFA World Cup
Canada	1 !Co-hosts	02023-02-14-14 February 2023	2 (1986, 2022)
Mexico	2 !Co-hosts	02023-02-14-14 February 2023	17 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022)
United States	3 !Co-hosts	02023-02-14-14 February 2023	11 (1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022)
TBD	4 !Third round Group A winners	TBD
TBD	5 !Third round Group B winners	TBD
TBD	6 !Third round Group C winners	TBD

External links

• Official website