On the way to the 2026 World Cup: The groups for the Concacaf qualifiers have been defined
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This Thursday the draw was held in Zurich, Switzerland, and the groups for the second phase of the qualifiers were defined, where 32 teams will compete for three direct tickets and two for the playoffs.
This Thursday the groups for the qualifying rounds of Concacaf heading to the World Cup 2026 after the draw held at the FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
In a ceremony presided over by Manolo Zubiria, the tournament director β United States, 2026 World Cup, in the company of two FIFA legends from the region: Paulo Wanchope, historic player for the Costa Rica national team, and Ricardo Gardner, the second most capped footballer for the Jamaica national team, were announced the groups for the eliminatory.
As already anticipated, the tie will consist of three rounds, in which 34 teams will compete for three direct tickets to the World Cup and two for the playoffs. It should be remembered that, in addition, Mexico, the United States and Canada are classified as host countries.
The first round will be played between the four lowest-ranked teams in the region according to the December FIFA ranking, the most recent, round trip.
The duels will take place in March during the corresponding FIFA date and will be between Turks and Caicos vs. Anguilla and British Virgin Islands vs. US Virgin Islands; The winners will advance to the second round of the playoffs.
The groups for this second phase were those decided by this Thursday's draw, which were as follows, waiting to know who the last two will be classifieds, which will enter sector E and F.
Group A: Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Bermuda, Cayman Islands.
Group B: Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Bahamas.
Group C: Haiti, Curacao , Saint Lucia, Barbados, Aruba.
Group D: Panama, Nicaragua, Guyana, Montserrat, Belize.
Group E: Jamaica, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Dominica, British Virgin Islands or US Virgin Islands.
Group F: El Salvador, Suriname, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Turks and Caicos or Anguilla.
The 32 members of each of these groups will face each other only once, between June 2024 and June 2025 and each will play four games (two at home and two as a visitor).
At the end of these matches, the two teams that get the most points in each of the six sectors will advance to the next round, the last.
In this third phase the 12 qualified teams will make up 3 groups of 4 teams each. Those who finish in first place will obtain a direct pass and the two best second places will go to the intercontinental repechage. These confrontations will take place between September and November 2025.