2026 World Cup - Central American and Caribbean qualifiers

[amenina]

https://www.fifa.com/fifaplus/en/tourna ... ada-mexico

Concacaf
Automatically qualified nations: 3
Additional FIFA World Cup 26 tickets: 3
Play-off Tournament spots: 2

Co-hosts Canada, Mexico and USA all receive automatic berths, leaving three direct slots and a possible further two via the Play-off Tournament up for grabs in Concacaf.

The qualification tournament will begin in March 2024. The region's four lowest-ranked teams will be split into two match-ups and will contest home-and-away ties. The winners will advance to the second round.

In the second round, a total of 30 Concacaf sides will compete in six groups of five teams. The nations will play the other teams in their groups once. Each country will play two home matches and two away games. The group winners and runners-up (12 teams in total) will progress to the final round.

The 12 nations in the final round will be split into three groups of four teams. Within each group, teams will play each other home and away. The three group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, joining hosts Canada, Mexico and USA. The two best second-place finishers will qualify for the FIFA Play-off Tournament.

[dopeisland]

My model's prediction for qualifying-

[Tazmania]

I assume they 12-month interval between R2 games is to accommodate the Concacaf NL between September 2024 and March 2025. Is the NL played annually or biennially?

[Jackson Harrison]

I assume they 12-month interval between R2 games is to accommodate the Concacaf NL between September 2024 and March 2025. Is the NL played annually or biennially?

Usually annually but there will be no 25-26 edition due to WCQ.

So 3/4 year cycle will have a CNL. So every cycle Concacaf teams play 7 tournaments: 3*CNL, 2*Gold Cup, 1*Copa America and 1*World Cup.

Hope I've explained it clear enough!

[Tazmania]

Yes, now I understand, cheers.

So there's only one year without CNL.

[perica]

Let's make an overview. There are 35 concacaf members affiliated with fifa. Apart from 3 host nations, there are 32 remaining teams. Let me repeat it. 32 teams playing those qualifying campaign.
Anybody who was involved in organizing sport competition hardly can immagine a number less ideal than 32. With such number you do whatever you want. 8 gropus by 4 teams or opposite with some additional playoff to determine 3+2 teams.
But gentlemen from concacaf said: why should we make simple if we can do it complicated? So, they introduced preliminary round where two teams will be immediately eliminated(despite montigliani's recent statement that their idea is to involve as more competetive matches as possible for everybody), then single(?!) Round robin whith day off for a team within a group at each matchday, having three match days per two windows which will be played in time interval long one year! Then there is famous third round where two best runners-up will be selected based on results in different groups.

Gentlemen from fifa and concacaf, learn the beauty of number 32.

[Shing]

Let's make an overview. There are 35 concacaf members affiliated with fifa. Apart from 3 host nations, there are 32 remaining teams. Let me repeat it. 32 teams playing those qualifying campaign.
Anybody who was involved in organizing sport competition hardly can immagine a number less ideal than 32. With such number you do whatever you want. 8 gropus by 4 teams or opposite with some additional playoff to determine 3+2 teams.
But gentlemen from concacaf said: why should we make simple if we can do it complicated? So, they introduced preliminary round where two teams will be immediately eliminated(despite montigliani's recent statement that their idea is to involve as more competetive matches as possible for everybody), then single(?!) Round robin whith day off for a team within a group at each matchday, having three match days per two windows which will be played in time interval long one year! Then there is famous third round where two best runners-up will be selected based on results in different groups.

Gentlemen from fifa and concacaf, learn the beauty of number 32.

Agree, 8 groups of 4, then 12 teams advance to two round knockouts. All teams guaranteed at least 6 matches.

[Sagy]

Let's make an overview. There are 35 concacaf members affiliated with fifa. Apart from 3 host nations, there are 32 remaining teams. Let me repeat it. 32 teams playing those qualifying campaign.
Anybody who was involved in organizing sport competition hardly can immagine a number less ideal than 32. With such number you do whatever you want. 8 gropus by 4 teams or opposite with some additional playoff to determine 3+2 teams.
But gentlemen from concacaf said: why should we make simple if we can do it complicated? So, they introduced preliminary round where two teams will be immediately eliminated(despite montigliani's recent statement that their idea is to involve as more competetive matches as possible for everybody), then single(?!) Round robin whith day off for a team within a group at each matchday, having three match days per two windows which will be played in time interval long one year! Then there is famous third round where two best runners-up will be selected based on results in different groups.

Gentlemen from fifa and concacaf, learn the beauty of number 32.

Agree, 8 groups of 4, then 12 teams advance to two round knockouts. All teams guaranteed at least 6 matches.

How do you pick the last 4 teams to advance? (assuming the 8 group winners advance under your proposal). Selecting them based based on records in the different groups is a poor solution.

[Shing]

Let's make an overview. There are 35 concacaf members affiliated with fifa. Apart from 3 host nations, there are 32 remaining teams. Let me repeat it. 32 teams playing those qualifying campaign.
Anybody who was involved in organizing sport competition hardly can immagine a number less ideal than 32. With such number you do whatever you want. 8 gropus by 4 teams or opposite with some additional playoff to determine 3+2 teams.
But gentlemen from concacaf said: why should we make simple if we can do it complicated? So, they introduced preliminary round where two teams will be immediately eliminated(despite montigliani's recent statement that their idea is to involve as more competetive matches as possible for everybody), then single(?!) Round robin whith day off for a team within a group at each matchday, having three match days per two windows which will be played in time interval long one year! Then there is famous third round where two best runners-up will be selected based on results in different groups.

Gentlemen from fifa and concacaf, learn the beauty of number 32.

Agree, 8 groups of 4, then 12 teams advance to two round knockouts. All teams guaranteed at least 6 matches.

How do you pick the last 4 teams to advance? (assuming the 8 group winners advance under your proposal). Selecting them based based on records in the different groups is a poor solution.

Yes, 4 group runners-up with the best results. Agree it is not perfect, but still better than eliminating 2 teams after 2 matches in my point of view. Comparing results in different groups is not good for group winners, but acceptable to me for other teams as they are technically losers in their groups. Teams may get prepared to not advance if they could not win the group. Extra playoff to determine group runners-up to advance could be a possibility but international match schedules are rare and may affect the smoothness of the competition

[amenina]

FIFA announces draw details for Concacaf FIFA World Cup 2026™ qualifiers

https://www.concacaf.com/news/fifa-anno ... ualifiers/

Concacaf qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026™ will include 32 Concacaf men’s national teams

Draw for qualifiers will take place at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, commencing at 19:00 CET on 25 January 2024

Teams will compete for three direct berths to FIFA World Cup 2026, and two slots at the FIFA Playoff Tournament

FIFA has today announced details for the draw for the Concacaf qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026™, the most inclusive FIFA tournament ever and one that will welcome millions of fans to 16 unique host cities across Canada, Mexico, and the USA.

The draw will take place on Thursday, 25 January 2024 at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland. It will be conducted by Chief Tournament Officer – USA, FIFA World Cup 2026TM, Manolo Zubiria, and hosted by sports reporter, Alexis Nunes. Joining Zubiria and Nunes for this exciting event will be FIFA Legends Paulo Wanchope Watson (Costa Rica) and Ricardo Gardner (Jamaica), who will serve as draw assistants.

Commencing at 19:00 CET, the draw will be broadcast live on FIFA+ for fans across the globe. Several FIFA broadcast partners will provide coverage of the event. These broadcasters will be confirmed on FIFA.com ahead of the draw.

The Concacaf qualifiers will not include Canada, Mexico, and the United States as they qualify directly to the tournament as hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The format for the Concacaf qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2026 was previously announced by Concacaf on 28 February 2023.

Qualification will consist of three separate rounds and will include 32 FIFA affiliated Concacaf member associations, competing as follows:

First round: March 2024, four member associations (two match dates)

The first round will be contested by the four lowest-ranked Concacaf member associations (based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking as of 21 December 2023). The four national teams are Turks and Caicos Islands, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands and US Virgin Islands. The first-round pairings, which are based on the teams’ positions in the ranking, are as follows:

Turks and Caicos Islands v. Anguilla
British Virgin Islands v. US Virgin Islands

These home-and-away matches will be played during the FIFA international match window of March 2024. The winners of each two-legged play-off will progress to round two.

Second round: June 2024 and June 2025, 30 member associations (four match dates)

The second round of qualifiers will feature the two winners of the first round and the confederation’s remaining 28 participating member associations.

The 30 national teams will be divided into pots based on the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking as of 21 December 2023.

The Concacaf Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026, to be held at the Home of FIFA on 25 January, will see the 30 teams drawn into six groups of five teams, with each team playing every other team in their group once, playing a total of four matches (two at home and two away).

The second round matches will be played during the FIFA international match windows of June 2024 and June 2025. Following the completion of the second round, the group winners and runners-up (12 teams in total) will progress to the final round.

Final round: September, October, and November 2025, 12 member associations (six match dates) *

* A separate draw will be conducted for the Final Round following the conclusion of the Second Round.

The final round of qualifiers will feature the second round group winners and runners-up (12 teams in total).

The 12 teams will be divided into three groups of four teams. Each team will play every other team in their group at home and away, playing a total of six matches (three at home and three away).

The final round matches will be played during the FIFA international match windows of September, October, and November 2025. Following the completion of the final round, the three group winners will qualify directly for the FIFA World Cup 2026, joining hosts Canada, Mexico, and the USA.

Additionally, the best two runners-up will represent Concacaf in the FIFA Play-off Tournament. In total, the Concacaf region could have up to eight teams at the FIFA World Cup for the first time.

Following on from CONMEBOL, the AFC and CAF, Concacaf will be the fourth confederation to launch its qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Comprehensive coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers is available on FIFA.com and FIFA+.

[amenina]

Draw on FIFA+: https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/content/pr ... d357?gl=jp

FIFA Men's Ranking: https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking ... Id=id14233

CONCACAF second round teams

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

[Jackson Harrison]

Draw on FIFA+: https://www.plus.fifa.com/en/content/pr ... d357?gl=jp

FIFA Men's Ranking: https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking ... Id=id14233

CONCACAF second round teams

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

Draw procedure: https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/7bb71d129 ... -26_EN.pdf

[perica]

Let's make an overview. There are 35 concacaf members affiliated with fifa. Apart from 3 host nations, there are 32 remaining teams. Let me repeat it. 32 teams playing those qualifying campaign.
Anybody who was involved in organizing sport competition hardly can immagine a number less ideal than 32. With such number you do whatever you want. 8 gropus by 4 teams or opposite with some additional playoff to determine 3+2 teams.
But gentlemen from concacaf said: why should we make simple if we can do it complicated? So, they introduced preliminary round where two teams will be immediately eliminated(despite montigliani's recent statement that their idea is to involve as more competetive matches as possible for everybody), then single(?!) Round robin whith day off for a team within a group at each matchday, having three match days per two windows which will be played in time interval long one year! Then there is famous third round where two best runners-up will be selected based on results in different groups.

Gentlemen from fifa and concacaf, learn the beauty of number 32.

Agree, 8 groups of 4, then 12 teams advance to two round knockouts. All teams guaranteed at least 6 matches.

How do you pick the last 4 teams to advance? (assuming the 8 group winners advance under your proposal). Selecting them based based on records in the different groups is a poor solution.

How do you select two runners up now, but based on different groups records as well?

Let 8 group winners advance to the second round. They will be divided into 2 groups by 4. Both group winners quslify directly for world cup.

Runners-up will play playoff match. Winner qualifies directly to wc, while loser will play intercontinental playoff.

3rd placed teams will compete in playout match. Winner will progress to intercontinental playoff.

With such a format goal is reached. 3 direct qualifiers + 2 intercontinental playoff participants.

[amenina]

Draw starts now!

[amenina]

Draw results

Group A: Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands
Group B: Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Bahamas
Group C: Haiti, Curacao, St. Lucia, Barbados, Aruba
Group D: Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat, Belize
Group E: Jamaica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Winner Play-off 2 (British Virgin Islands vs US Virgin Islands)
Group F: El Salvador, Suriname, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Winner Play-off 1 (Turks and Caicos Islands vs Anguilla)







Schedule

Window 1 (3-11 June 2024)
Wed: 2 vs 4
Thu: 1 vs 3
Sat: 5 vs 2
Sun: 4 vs 1
Tue: 3 vs 5

Window 2 (2-10 June 2025)
Wed: 4 vs 5
Fri: 2 vs 3
Sat: 5 vs 1
Tue: 3 vs 4, 1 vs 2