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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, January 25, 2024 at the Home of FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland. It will be conducted by Chief Tournament Officer – USA, FIFA World Cup 2026, 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.
