The 2026 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship will be the ninth edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship, the biennial men's international under-20 association football tournament organized by CONCACAF. The tournament will be held from 25 July through 9 August, though CONCACAF has not announced the host as of 16 February 2026.
As with the 2024 edition, 12 teams will compete in three groups of four teams each followed by an eight-team knockout round. The tournament results will determine CONCACAF's representatives at the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup, 2027 Pan American Games, and 2028 Olympics.[1]
CONCACAF announced the qualification format in November 2026. As the six highest-ranked Under-20 teams in CONCACAF, the United States, Mexico, Honduras, Panama, Cuba, and Guatemala received byes to the final tournament.[2] Thirty-two teams were drawn into six groups to play single round-robin matches with the six group winners qualifying.[3]
CONCACAF announced the tournament format in November 2026 (Sections 12.5–12.10):[1]
Group stage: Twelve teams will be drawn into three groups of four teams to play single round-robin matches. Group winners, runners-up, and the two highest-ranked third-place teams will advance to the knockout stage.
Knockout stage: The eight teams advancing from the group stage will be seeded with group winners ranked 1–3, runners-up 4–6, and third-place teams 7 and 8. The first- and eighth-seeded teams, the second- and seventh-seeded teams, the third- and sixth-seeded teams, and the fourth- and fifth-seeded teams will face off in quarter-finals 1–4, respectively. The winners of quarter-finals 1 and 4, and the winners of quarter-finals 2 and 3 will meet in the semifinals, with the winners of those matches contesting the final.
The tournament will determine the CONCACAF participants in the following tournaments (Sections 5.2–5.3):[1]
The highest-placed team affiliated with the IOC will qualify for the 2028 Olympics. If that team is the United States, which has qualified as the host nation, then the second-highest placed team will qualify.
Group stage
Tiebreakers
Teams will be ranked on the following criteria (Section 12.7):[1]
Greater number of points obtained in all matches
Greater overall goal difference
Greater overall number of goals scored
If two or more teams are tied, the following criteria will be applied:
Greater number of points scored in matches between the tied teams
Greater goal difference in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams are tied)
Greater number of goals scored in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams are tied)
Lower number of disciplinary points:
First yellow card: 1 point
Second yellow card/indirect red card: 3 points
Direct red card: 4 points
Yellow card and direct red card: 5 points
Higher ranking in the CONCACAF Under-20 ranking published most recently before qualification started
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