The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). Three direct slots and two inter-confederation play-off slots in the final tournament were available for CONCACAF teams.
On 9 May 2017, the FIFA Council approved the slot allocation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which included six direct spots and two inter-confederation play-off spots for the CONCACAF region. However, in a change of format from previous World Cups, there would be no dedicated host country slot, with the slots of automatically qualifying host countries now taken from the quota of its confederation. If the tournament were to be co-hosted, the FIFA Council would decide which host countries would qualify automatically. On 13 June 2018, three members of CONCACAFâÂÂCanada, Mexico and the United StatesâÂÂwere selected as hosts for the 2026 World Cup by the 68th FIFA Congress.
On 14 February 2023, the FIFA Council awarded automatic berths for all three host countries, leaving three direct slots and two inter-confederation play-off slots to be decided through CONCACAF qualification. On 28 February, CONCACAF announced the qualifying format for 2026 World Cup qualification.
As Canada, Mexico, and the United States were awarded automatic berths as co-hosts, they did not enter qualifying. All the remaining 32 FIFA-affiliated national teams from CONCACAF entered qualification. Based on the FIFA rankings of December 2023, the top 28 teams received a bye to the second round, while the lowest four teams entered the first round.
The CONCACAF schedule for qualification was as follows:
The bottom four CONCACAF teams, ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA rankings of December 2023, were divided into two matchups to be played on a two-legged home-and-away basis. The pairings were predetermined, with the 29th ranked team facing the 32nd ranked team, and the 30th ranked team facing the 31st ranked team. The two winners advanced to the second round.
The draw took place on 25 January 2024 in Zürich, Switzerland.
The top twenty-eight CONCACAF teams in the FIFA rankings of December 2023 entered in the second round, joined by the two winners of the first round. Teams were drawn into six groups of five teams and played single round-robin matches (two home and two away). The six group winners and six group runners-up advanced to the third round.
In the third round, the twelve teams advancing from the second round were drawn into three groups of four teams to play round-robin home-and-away matches. The three group winners qualified for the World Cup, and the two best-ranked runners-up advanced to the inter-confederation play-offs. The draw for the third round was held on 12 June 2025, 19:00 EDT.
The two best runners-up from the third round, Jamaica and Suriname, joined Bolivia (from CONMEBOL), DR Congo (from CAF), Iraq (from AFC), and New Caledonia (from OFC) in the inter-confederation play-offs.
The teams were ranked according to the November 2025 FIFA Men's World Ranking, with the four lowest-ranked teams playing in two matches. The winners met the two highest-ranked teams in another set of matches, with the winners of these matches qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The following teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.
Notes
Below are full goalscorer lists for each round: