Listed below are the dates and results for the tournament qualification. A total of 17 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Honduras withdrew before the matches were played. The remaining 16 teams were divided into 3 zones, based on geographical considerations, as follows:
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mexico | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 | 1977 CONCACAF Championship |
| 2= |  Canada (O) | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 [a] | |
| 2= |  United States | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 [a] |
| 24 September 1976 | Canada | 1–1 | United States | Vancouver, Canada |
Bolitho  77' | Bandov 8' | Stadium: Empire Stadium Attendance: 15,453 [1] Referee: Dorantes García (Mexico) |
| 3 October 1976 | United States | 0–0 | Mexico | Los Angeles, United States |
| Stadium: Memorial Coliseum Attendance: 33,171 [2] Referee: Dante Maglio (Canada) |
| 10 October 1976 | Canada | 1–0 | Mexico | Vancouver, Canada |
| Parsons 32' | Stadium: Empire Stadium Attendance: 17,939 [3] Referee: Toros Kibritjian (United States) |
| 15 October 1976 | Mexico | 3–0 | United States | Puebla, Mexico |
| Solís 28' Álvarez 40'Dávila 83' (pen.) | Stadium: Cuauhtémoc Referee: Werner Winsemann (Canada) |
| 20 October 1976 | United States | 2–0 | Canada | Seattle, United States |
| Rys 55' Veee 81' | Stadium: Kingdome Attendance: 17,675 [4] Referee: Rubio Vásquez (Mexico) |
| 27 October 1976 | Mexico | 0–0 | Canada | Toluca, Mexico |
| Stadium: Nemesio Díez Referee: Landauer (United States) |
Canada and United States finished level on points and goal difference, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.
| 22 December 1976 | Canada | 3–0 | United States | Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Budd 21' Lenarduzzi 80'Bolitho 87' | Attendance: 5,000 (estimated) [5] Referee: Velasquez Ramírez (Colombia) |
Mexico and Canada advanced to the tournament.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Guatemala | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 8 | 1977 CONCACAF Championship |
| 2 |  El Salvador | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 7 | |
| 3 |  Costa Rica | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 |  Panama | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 21 | −14 | 3 |
| 4 April 1976 | Panama | 3–2 | Costa Rica | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |
| Tapia 48' Ponce 50'Sánchez 75' | Jiménez 34' Barrantes 85' | Referee: Cedillos (Honduras) |
| 2 May 1976 | Panama | 1–1 | El Salvador | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |
| Vázquez 50' (pen.) | Ramírez 16' | Referee: Rojas Luis (Costa Rica) |
| 11 July 1976 | Costa Rica | 3–0 | Panama | Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, San Juan de Tibás, Costa Rica |
| Alvarado 11', 22' Jiménez 44' | Referee: Sazo Alvarez (Nicaragua) |
| 1 August 1976 | El Salvador | 4–1 | Panama | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Ramírez 7', 14', 78' Aquino 69' | Hernández 88' | Referee: Rubio Vásquez (Mexico) |
| 17 September 1976 | Panama | 2–4 | Guatemala | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |
| Wellmann 9' (o.g.) Montillo 25' | Pennant 51' Sánchez 56', 63'Anderson 88' | Referee: Álvarez Morales (Costa Rica) |
| 26 September 1976 | Guatemala | 7–0 | Panama | Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Sánchez 14', 68' Pennant 17', 40'McDonald 53', 62'Sandoval 70' | Referee: Avendano Ruiz (El Salvador) |
| 1 December 1976 | El Salvador | 1–1 | Costa Rica | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Cabrera 27' | Jiménez 78' | Referee: Méndez Molina (Guatemala) |
| 5 December 1976 | Costa Rica | 0–0 | Guatemala | Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica |
| Referee: Archundia (Mexico) |
| 8 December 1976 | Guatemala | 3–1 | El Salvador | Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| McNish 19' Monterroso 30'Sánchez 80' | Valencia 14' (pen.) | Referee: Luis Paulino Siles Calderón (Costa Rica) |
| 12 December 1976 | Guatemala | 1–1 | Costa Rica | Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Sandoval 77' | Salgado 89' | Referee: Andino Pinel (Honduras) |
| 15 December 1976 | Costa Rica | 1–1 | El Salvador | Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica |
| Figueroa 40' | Ramírez 75' | Referee: Mollinedo (Guatemala) |
| 19 December 1976 | El Salvador | 2–0 | Guatemala | Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Cabrera 1' Valencia 12' | Referee: Segura (Mexico) |
Guatemala and El Salvador advanced to the tournament.
| Preliminary Round | First Round | Second Round | |||||||||||||||||
 Guyana | 2 | 0 | n | 2 | |||||||||||||||
 Suriname | 0 | 3 | n | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Suriname (a.e.t.) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3* | |||||||||||||||
| Group A | |||||||||||||||||||
 Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
 Barbados | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2* | |||||||||||||||
 Jamaica | 1 | 0 | n | 1 | |||||||||||||||
 Cuba | 3 | 2 | n | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Cuba | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Group B | |||||||||||||||||||
 Haiti | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2* | |||||||||||||||
 Netherlands Antilles | 1 | 0 | n | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Haiti | 2 | 7 | n | 9 | |||||||||||||||
 Dominican Republic | 0 | 0 | n | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Haiti | 3 | 3 | n | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 July 1976 | Guyana | 2–0 | Suriname | Georgetown Cricket Club Ground, Georgetown, Guyana |
| Butts 9' Niles 72' | Referee: Gay (Trinidad and Tobago) |
| 29 August 1976 | Suriname | 3–0 (3–2 agg.) | Guyana | André Kamperveen Stadion, Paramaribo, Suriname |
| Playfaire 4' George 35', 53' | Referee: Wooding (Trinidad and Tobago) |
Suriname advanced to the Second Round.
| 15 August 1976 | Barbados | 2–1 | Trinidad and Tobago | Barbados National Stadium, Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Clarke 47', 54' (pen.) | David 83' | Referee: Steeman (Suriname) |
| 31 August 1976 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 (2–2 agg.) | Barbados | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Douglas 36' | Referee: Koetsier (Netherlands Antilles) |
The aggregate score was tied 2–2, and a play-off was played to decide who would advance to the Second Round.
| 14 September 1976 | Barbados | 1–3 | Trinidad and Tobago | Barbados National Stadium, Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Clarke 26' | Llewellyn 3' Carpette 74'Clarke 85' (o.g.) | Referee: Calderón Castro (Cuba) |
Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the Second Round, via the play-off.
| 14 November 1976 | Suriname | 1–1 | Trinidad and Tobago | André Kamperveen Stadion, Paramaribo, Suriname |
| George 2' | David 9' | Referee: Chandler (Barbados) |
| 28 November 1976 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2–2 (3–3 agg.) | Suriname | Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Figaro 29' (pen.) Llewellyn 64' | Olmberg 44' Entingh 83' | Referee: Llobregat Vicedo (Venezuela) |
The aggregate score was tied 3–3, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the tournament.
| 18 December 1976 | Suriname | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Trinidad and Tobago | Stade Georges-Chaumet, Cayenne, French Guiana |
| George 60', 80' Olmberg 107' (pen.) | David 19', 70' | Referee: Llobregat Vicedo (Venezuela) |
Suriname advanced to the tournament, via the play-off.
| 2 April 1976 | Dominican Republic | 0–3 |  Haiti | Estadio Olímpico Félix Sánchez, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Auguste 12' Bayonne 29'Baptiste 32' | Referee: Wuertz (United States) |
| 17 April 1976 | Haiti | 3–0 (6–0 agg.) | Dominican Republic | Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Bayonne 32', 63' Domingue 44' | Referee: Villarejo Ramírez (Puerto Rico) |
Haiti advanced to the First Round.
| 30 July 1976 | Netherlands Antilles  | 1–2 | Haiti | Guillermo Próspero Trinidad, Aruba, Netherlands Antilles |
| Ruiz 84' | Sanon 27', 39' | Referee: Chaplin (Jamaica) |
| 14 August 1976 | Haiti | 7–0 (9–1 agg.) | Netherlands Antilles | Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Domingue 5', 41' Sanon 27', 79'Labissiere 30'Brevil 50'Bayonne 56' | Referee: Montane Bosch (Puerto Rico) |
Haiti advanced to the Second Round.
| 15 August 1976 | Jamaica | 1–3 | Cuba | Independence Park, Kingston, Jamaica |
| Brown 65' | Rivero 29' Lara 50'Fariñas 75' | Referee: De la Puente (Dominican Republic) |
| 29 August 1976 | Cuba | 2–0 (5–1 agg.) | Jamaica | Estadio Pedro Marrero, Havana, Cuba |
| Fariñas 42' Pérez 77' | Referee: Pastor (Dominican Republic) |
Cuba advanced to the Second Round.
| 28 November 1976 | Cuba | 1–1 | Haiti | Estadio Latinoamericano, Havana, Cuba |
| Núñez 19' | Sanon 54' | Referee: Stewart (Jamaica) |
| 11 December 1976 | Haiti | 1–1 (2–2 agg.) | Cuba | Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Sanon 81' | Roldán 79' | Referee: Montane Bosch (Puerto Rico) |
The aggregate score was tied 2–2, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.
| 29 December 1976 | Haiti | 2–0 | Cuba | Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City, Panama |
| Domingue 63' Désir 83' (pen.) | Referee: Dorantes Garcia (Mexico) |
Haiti advanced to the tournament, via the play-off.
Mexico (CONCACAF North America Zone Winners) Canada (CONCACAF North American Zone Play-Off Winners) Guatemala (CONCACAF Central American Zone Winners) El Salvador (CONCACAF Central American Zone Runners-up) Suriname (CONCACAF Caribbean Zone Second Round Winners) Haiti (CONCACAF Caribbean Zone Second Round and Play-off winners) Brian Budd Bob Lenarduzzi Buzz Parsons Mario Barrantes Javier Masís William Fisher Salgado Dagoberto Lara Ramón Núñez Agustín Pérez Castillo Miguel Rivero Andrés Roldán Silvio Aquino Julio César Anderson Leonardo McNish Felix McDonald Benjamin Monterroso Vibert Butts Keith Niles Arsène Auguste Jean Marie Jean Baptiste Carlo Brevil Jean-Claude Désir Louidor Labissiere Carl Brown Pedro Damián Álvarez Hugo Dávila Francisco Solís Monico Eluterio Ruiz Hector Nestor Hernández Daniel Montillo Ruíz Federico Ponce Agustín Sánchez Luis Ernesto Tapia Virgílio Vázquez Rinaldo Entingh Henry Playfair Leon Carpette Anthony Douglas Selris Figaro Boris Bandov Miro Rys Juli Veee Victor Clarke (playing against Trinidad and Tobago) Allan Wellmann (playing against Panama)