2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF third round

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF third round
Tournament details
Dates4 September – 18 November 2025
Teams12 (from 1 confederation)
Tournament statistics
Matches played36
Goals scored89 (2.47 per match)
Attendance506,236 (14,062 per match)
Top scorer Duckens Nazon (4 goals)
← 2022
2030 →

The third round of CONCACAF matches of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification took place during September, October, and November 2025. This round determined 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.

Format

As Canada, Mexico, and the United States qualified for the final tournament as hosts, they did 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 playing a home-and-away league format. The group winners qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the two best group runners-up advanced 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 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
  1.  Panama (33)
  2.  Costa Rica (54)
  3.  Jamaica (63)
  1.  Honduras (75)
  2.  El Salvador (81)
  3.  Curaçao (90)
  1.  Haiti (83)
  2.  Trinidad and Tobago (100)
  3.  Guatemala (106)
  1.  Nicaragua (133)
  2.  Suriname (137)
  3.  Bermuda (168)

Schedule

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

Matchday Date(s) Fixtures
Matchday 1 4–5 September 2025 3 v 2, 4 v 1
Matchday 2 8–9 September 2025 1 v 3, 2 v 4
Matchday 3 9–10 October 2025 2 v 1, 4 v 3
Matchday 4 13–14 October 2025 1 v 4, 2 v 3
Matchday 5 13 November 2025 3 v 1, 4 v 2
Matchday 6 18 November 2025 1 v 2, 3 v 4

Groups

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Panama 6 3 3 0 9 4 +5 12 2026 FIFA World Cup — 1–1 1–1 3–0
2  Suriname 6 2 3 1 9 6 +3 9 Inter-confederation play-offs 0–0 — 1–1 4–0
3  Guatemala 6 2 2 2 8 7 +1 8 2–3 3–1 — 0–1
4  El Salvador 6 1 0 5 2 11 −9 3 0–1 1–2 0–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Suriname 0–0 Panama
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 2,685
Referee: Kwinsi Williams (Trinidad and Tobago)
Guatemala 0–1 El Salvador
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
  • Osorio 79'
Attendance: 13,600
Referee: Juan Calderón (Costa Rica)
El Salvador 1–2 Suriname
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 28,186
Referee: Adonai González (Mexico)
Panama 1–1 Guatemala
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 23,207
Suriname 1–1 Guatemala
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 3,476
Referee: Fernando Hernández (Mexico)
El Salvador 0–1 Panama
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 22,805
Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
Panama 1–1 Suriname
 Report
Attendance: 21,862
Referee: Selvin Brown (Honduras)
El Salvador 0–1 Guatemala
Report
Attendance: 26,931
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière (Canada)
Suriname 4–0 El Salvador
 Report
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)
Guatemala 2–3 Panama
 Report
Attendance: 6,819
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
Guatemala 3–1 Suriname
 Report Samayoa 90+3' (o.g.)
Attendance: 5,017
Referee: Juan Calderón (Costa Rica)
Panama 3–0 El Salvador
 Report
Attendance: 21,255

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Curaçao 6 3 3 0 13 3 +10 12 2026 FIFA World Cup — 2–0 1–1 3–2
2  Jamaica 6 3 2 1 11 3 +8 11 Inter-confederation play-offs 0–0 — 2–0 4–0
3  Trinidad and Tobago 6 1 4 1 7 6 +1 7 0–0 1–1 — 2–2
4  Bermuda 6 0 1 5 4 23 −19 1 0–7 0–4 0–3 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Bermuda 0–4 Jamaica
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 4,100
Referee: Keylor Herrera (Costa Rica)
Trinidad and Tobago 0–0 Curaçao
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 20,182
Referee: Katia García (Mexico)
Jamaica 2–0 Trinidad and Tobago
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 25,016
Curaçao 3–2 Bermuda
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 9,474
Referee: Adonis Carrasco (Dominican Republic)
Bermuda 0–3 Trinidad and Tobago
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 2,900
Referee: Julio Luna (Guatemala)
Curaçao 2–0 Jamaica
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 9,850
Referee: Bryan López (Guatemala)
Curaçao 1–1 Trinidad and Tobago
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: César Ramos (Mexico)
Jamaica 4–0 Bermuda
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 16,214
Referee: Reon Radix (Grenada)
Bermuda 0–7 Curaçao
Report
Attendance: 1,181
Trinidad and Tobago 1–1 Jamaica
 Report
Attendance: 16,629
Jamaica 0–0 Curaçao
Report
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Iván Barton (El Salvador)
Trinidad and Tobago 2–2 Bermuda
 Report
Attendance: 7,527
Referee: José Torres (Puerto Rico)

Group C

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Haiti 6 3 2 1 9 6 +3 11 2026 FIFA World Cup — 0–0 1–0 2–0
2  Honduras 6 2 3 1 5 2 +3 9 3–0 — 0–0 2–0
3  Costa Rica 6 1 4 1 8 6 +2 7 3–3 0–0 — 4–1
4  Nicaragua 6 1 1 4 4 12 −8 4 0–3 2–0 1–1 —
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers
Haiti 0–0 Honduras
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 2,997
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauzière (Canada)
Nicaragua 1–1 Costa Rica
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 19,532
Referee: Marco Ortíz (Mexico)
Costa Rica 3–3 Haiti
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 12,000
Honduras 2–0 Nicaragua
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 11,000
Nicaragua 0–3 Haiti
Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 18,660
Referee: Víctor Cáceres Hernández (Mexico)
Honduras 3–0 Haiti
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Attendance: 15,675
Referee: Oshane Nation (Jamaica)
Costa Rica 4–1 Nicaragua
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
  • Arteaga 26'
Attendance: 30,927
Referee: Ismael Cornejo (El Salvador)
Haiti 1–0 Costa Rica
 Report
Attendance: 1,571
Nicaragua 2–0 Honduras
 Report
Attendance: 9,893
Costa Rica 0–0 Honduras
Report
Attendance: 33,456
Referee: Drew Fischer (Canada)
Haiti 2–0 Nicaragua
 Report
Attendance: 1,500

Ranking of second-placed teams

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 B  Jamaica 6 3 2 1 11 3 +8 11 Advance to inter-confederation play-offs
2 A  Suriname 6 2 3 1 9 6 +3 9
3 C  Honduras 6 2 3 1 5 2 +3 9
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tiebreakers

Goalscorers

There were 89 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 2.47 goals per match.

4 goals

3 goals

2 goals

1 goal

1 own goal

Discipline

A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following infractions:[5]

  • Receiving a red card (red card suspensions could be extended for serious infractions)
  • Receiving two yellow cards in two different matches (yellow card suspensions were carried forward to further qualification rounds, but not the finals or any other future international matches)

The following suspensions were served during the third round:

Team Player Infraction(s) Suspended for match(es)
 Costa Rica Orlando Galo vs Haiti (9 September 2025)
vs Honduras (9 October 2025)		 vs Nicaragua (13 October 2025)
Alexis Gamboa vs Nicaragua (5 September 2025)
vs Honduras (9 October 2025)		 vs Nicaragua (13 October 2025)
 El Salvador Brayan Gil vs Suriname (8 September 2025)
vs Suriname (13 November 2025)		 vs Panama (18 November 2025)
Jefferson Valladares vs Guatemala (4 September 2025)
vs Suriname (13 November 2025)		 vs Panama (18 November 2025)
 Haiti Carlens Arcus vs Costa Rica (9 September 2025)
vs Nicaragua (9 October 2025)		 vs Honduras (13 October 2025)
Danley Jean Jacques vs Costa Rica (9 September 2025)
vs Costa Rica (13 November 2025)		 vs Nicaragua (18 November 2025)
 Honduras Getsel Montes vs Costa Rica (9 October 2025)
vs Haiti (13 November 2025)		 vs Costa Rica (18 November 2025)
 Jamaica Isaac Hayden vs Bermuda (5 September 2025)
vs Trinidad and Tobago (9 September 2025)		 vs Curaçao (10 October 2025)
 Nicaragua Óscar Acevedo vs Honduras (9 September 2025)
vs Costa Rica (13 October 2025)		 vs Honduras (13 November 2025)
Jason Coronel vs Costa Rica (5 September 2025) vs Honduras (9 September 2025)
vs Haiti (9 October 2025)
Christian Reyes vs Haiti (9 October 2025)
vs Costa Rica (13 October 2025)		 vs Honduras (13 November 2025)
 Panama Aníbal Godoy vs Guatemala (8 September 2025)
vs Guatemala (13 November 2025)		 vs El Salvador (18 November 2025)
 Suriname Dhoraso Klas vs Panama (4 September 2025)
vs El Salvador (8 September 2025)		 vs Guatemala (10 October 2025)
 Trinidad and Tobago Alvin Jones   vs Costa Rica (10 June 2025) vs Curaçao (5 September 2025)

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. ^ a b c "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.
  5. ^ "Regulations: FIFA World Cup 2026 Preliminary Competition" (PDF). FIFA. June 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
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