CONCACAF, the governing body for North, Central American and Caribbean football, said on Friday it will have six automatic qualifying spots for the 2030 World Cup, with a seventh available as part of an intercontinental play-off.
FIFA said later on Friday it has yet to announce the allocation of berths to each confederation. The president of the South American confederation CONMEBOL has proposed expanding the tournament again to 64 countries.
CONCACAF said qualifying will begin in September 2027, with the teams ranked 14th through 35th playing a total goals first round.
The eleven winners will advance to the second round together with the thirteen best countries. The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams, and each country will play six matches between October 2027 and March 2028.
The top two teams in each group will advance to a 12-nation final round, to be played between June 2028 and October 2029.
There will be three groups in the final round, and each country will play six matches. The top two teams in each group will qualify for the 2030 World Cup, which will take place mainly in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one match each in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The top two third-place teams will advance to a CONCACAF play-off in November 2029. The winner will advance to FIFA’s intercontinental play-offs.
Under the format, the US and Mexico would likely not meet in qualifying.
With the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams in 2022 to 48 this year, CONCACAF doubled its automatic spots to six. The United States, Mexico and Canada automatically received spots as co-hosts, while Curaçao, Haiti and Panama earned spots in the qualifier.
Jamaica has a chance of finishing seventh in the play-offs next month with New Caledonia and Congo.
CONCACAF also said the 2027 Nations League semi-finals and final will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Published on February 7, 2026
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