2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF third round

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2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF third round
Tournament details
Dates4 September – 18 November 2025
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
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The third round of CONCACAF matches of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification is expected to take place during the months of September, October, and November 2025. This round will determine the final three CONCACAF teams to directly qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as well as the two CONCACAF representatives in the inter-confederation play-offs.

Contents

Format

As Canada, Mexico, and the United States qualified for the final tournament as hosts, they will not take part in the qualification tournament. Twelve teams – the second round group winners and runners-up – were drawn into three groups of four teams each to play a home-and-away league format. The winners will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the two best runners-up will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs. [1]

Qualified teams

The following teams finished first or second in their respective second round groups: [2]

Seeding

The draw took place at 19:00 EDT (UTC–4:00) on 12 June 2025. Teams were seeded based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of June 2025 [3] (April 2025 rankings shown in parentheses). The draw started with Pot 1; the first team drawn was placed into position A1, the second team drawn into position B1, and the third team drawn into position C1. The process was repeated with Pots 2, 3, and 4. [3]

From the April 2025 FIFA Men's World Ranking
Pot 1Pot 2Pot 3Pot 4
  1. Flag of Panama.svg  Panama (33)
  2. Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica (54)
  3. Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica (63)
  1. Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg  Honduras (75)
  2. Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador (81)
  3. Flag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao (90)
  1. Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti (83)
  2. Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago (100)
  3. Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala (106)
  1. Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua (133)
  2. Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname (137)
  3. Flag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda (168)

Schedule

Matches will take place in September, October and November 2025. [3] [4]

MatchdayDate(s)
Matchday 14–5 September 2025
Matchday 28–9 September 2025
Matchday 39–10 October 2025
Matchday 413–14 October 2025
Matchday 513 November 2025
Matchday 618 November 2025

Groups

Group A

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Panama.svg Flag of El Salvador.svg Flag of Guatemala.svg Flag of Suriname.svg
1Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 00000000 2026 FIFA World Cup — 18 Nov 8 Sep 14 Oct
2Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 00000000Possible inter-confederation play-offs based on ranking 10 Oct — 14 Oct 8 Sep
3Flag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala 00000000 13 Nov 4 Sep — 18 Nov
4Flag of Suriname.svg  Suriname 00000000 4 Sep 13 Nov 10 Oct —
First match(es) will be played: 4 September 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Suriname  Flag of Suriname.svgvFlag of Panama.svg  Panama
Report
Franklin Essed Stadion, Paramaribo
Guatemala  Flag of Guatemala.svgvFlag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador
Report
Estadio Cementos Progreso, Guatemala City
El Salvador  Flag of El Salvador.svgvFlag of Suriname.svg  Suriname
Report
Estadio Cuscatlán, San Salvador
Panama  Flag of Panama.svgvFlag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala
Report
Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City
El Salvador  Flag of El Salvador.svgvFlag of Panama.svg  Panama
Report
Suriname  Flag of Suriname.svgvFlag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala
Report
Panama  Flag of Panama.svgvFlag of Suriname.svg  Suriname
Report
El Salvador  Flag of El Salvador.svgvFlag of Guatemala.svg  Guatemala
Report
Guatemala  Flag of Guatemala.svgvFlag of Panama.svg  Panama
Report
Suriname  Flag of Suriname.svgvFlag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador
Report
Panama  Flag of Panama.svgvFlag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador
Report
Guatemala  Flag of Guatemala.svgvFlag of Suriname.svg  Suriname
Report

Group B

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Jamaica.svg Flag of Curacao.svg Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg Flag of Bermuda.svg
1Flag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica 00000000 2026 FIFA World Cup — 18 Nov 9 Sep 14 Oct
2Flag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao 00000000Possible inter-confederation play-offs based on ranking 10 Oct — 14 Oct 9 Sep
3Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago 00000000 13 Nov 5 Sep — 18 Nov
4Flag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda 00000000 5 Sep 13 Nov 10 Oct —
First match(es) will be played: 5 September 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Bermuda  Flag of Bermuda.svgvFlag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Report
Bermuda National Stadium, Devonshire Parish
Trinidad and Tobago  Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svgvFlag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao
Report
Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain
Jamaica  Flag of Jamaica.svgvFlag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Independence Park, Kingston
Curaçao  Flag of Curacao.svgvFlag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda
Report
Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad
Curaçao  Flag of Curacao.svgvFlag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Report
Bermuda  Flag of Bermuda.svgvFlag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Jamaica  Flag of Jamaica.svgvFlag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda
Report
Curaçao  Flag of Curacao.svgvFlag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg  Trinidad and Tobago
Report
Trinidad and Tobago  Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svgvFlag of Jamaica.svg  Jamaica
Report
Bermuda  Flag of Bermuda.svgvFlag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao
Report
Jamaica  Flag of Jamaica.svgvFlag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao
Report
Trinidad and Tobago  Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svgvFlag of Bermuda.svg  Bermuda
Report

Group C

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification Flag of Costa Rica.svg Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg Flag of Haiti.svg Flag of Nicaragua.svg
1Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 00000000 2026 FIFA World Cup — 18 Nov 9 Sep 13 Oct
2Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg  Honduras 00000000Possible inter-confederation play-offs based on ranking 9 Oct — 13 Oct 9 Sep
3Flag of Haiti.svg  Haiti 00000000 13 Nov 5 Sep — 18 Nov
4Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 00000000 5 Sep 13 Nov 9 Oct —
First match(es) will be played: 5 September 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Haiti  Flag of Haiti.svgvFlag of Honduras (2022-).svg  Honduras
Report
Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad (Curaçao)
Nicaragua  Flag of Nicaragua.svgvFlag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
Report
Estadio Nacional, Managua
Costa Rica  Flag of Costa Rica.svgvFlag of Haiti.svg  Haiti
Report
Estadio Nacional, San José
Honduras  Flag of Honduras (2022-).svgvFlag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua
Report
Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés, Tegucigalpa
Honduras  Flag of Honduras (2022-).svgvFlag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
Report
Nicaragua  Flag of Nicaragua.svgvFlag of Haiti.svg  Haiti
Report
Costa Rica  Flag of Costa Rica.svgvFlag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua
Report
Honduras  Flag of Honduras (2022-).svgvFlag of Haiti.svg  Haiti
Report
Haiti  Flag of Haiti.svgvFlag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica
Report
Nicaragua  Flag of Nicaragua.svgvFlag of Honduras (2022-).svg  Honduras
Report
Costa Rica  Flag of Costa Rica.svgvFlag of Honduras (2022-).svg  Honduras
Report
Haiti  Flag of Haiti.svgvFlag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua
Report

Ranking of second-placed teams

PosGrpTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1 A Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 00000000Advance to inter-confederation play-offs
2 B Flag of Curacao.svg  Curaçao 00000000
3 C Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg  Honduras 00000000
First match(es) will be played: 4 September 2025. Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

References

  1. ↑ "FIFA announces draw details for Concacaf FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers". CONCACAF. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "Concacaf confirms draw pots and participating teams for Third Round of FIFA World Cup Qualifying". concacaf.com. CONCACAF . Retrieved 12 June 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Concacaf confirms schedule for region's men's FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches taking place in June". CONCACAF. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "Final Round Schedule Announced for Concacaf Men's World Cup Qualifying". CONCACAF . Retrieved 22 July 2025.
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