The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) gets 3 guaranteed spots for the FIFA World Cup. In addition, CONCACAF also gets the chance to send one more team through intercontinental playoffs.
Direct Qualification
Out of the 3 direct spots for the World Cup, the allocation is as follows:
- 1 spot is allocated to the winner of the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualification
- 2 spots are allocated to the 2nd and 3rd placed teams in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualification
In the latest 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, the teams that qualified directly were:
- Canada (qualified as winners of final round)
- Mexico (qualified as 2nd placed team)
- United States (qualified as 3rd placed team)
Intercontinental Playoffs
The 4th placed team in the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualification gets to play in inter-confederation playoffs for one more World Cup spot.
In the latest qualifiers, this 4th placed team was Costa Rica. They played against New Zealand (winner from Oceania confederation) in an intercontinental playoff. Costa Rica won this playoff and qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
History of CONCACAF World Cup Qualification
Let’s take a look at the history of World Cup qualification from CONCACAF to see trends in number of teams that made it to the World Cup:
| Year | World Cup | CONCACAF Direct Qualifiers | CONCACAF Playoff Qualifier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | Uruguay | Mexico, United States | – |
| 1934 | Italy | Mexico, United States | – |
| 1938 | France | Cuba | – |
| 1950 | Brazil | United States | – |
| 1954 | Switzerland | – | – |
| 1958 | Sweden | – | – |
| 1962 | Chile | – | – |
| 1966 | England | – | – |
| 1970 | Mexico | El Salvador, Mexico | – |
| 1974 | West Germany | Haiti | – |
| 1978 | Argentina | Mexico | – |
| 1982 | Spain | El Salvador, Honduras | – |
| 1986 | Mexico | Canada, Mexico | – |
| 1990 | Italy | Costa Rica, United States | – |
| 1994 | United States | Mexico, United States | – |
| 1998 | France | Jamaica, Mexico | – |
| 2002 | South Korea/Japan | Costa Rica, Mexico, United States | – |
| 2006 | Germany | Costa Rica, Mexico, United States | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 2010 | South Africa | Honduras, Mexico, United States | – |
| 2014 | Brazil | Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, United States | – |
| 2018 | Russia | Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama | – |
| 2022 | Qatar | Canada, Mexico, United States | Costa Rica |
From the above table we can see that:
- Historically 2-3 teams used to qualify directly from CONCACAF for most World Cups
- From 2002 onwards, 3 direct spots have been allocated to CONCACAF teams
- On some occasions (2006, 2022), CONCACAF also managed to send a 4th team via playoffs
CONCACAF World Cup Qualification Format
The CONCACAF World Cup qualification process consists of multiple rounds before teams make it to the final round. The format has changed over the years, but here is an overview of the latest 2022 World Cup qualifiers:
First Round
30 teams ranked 7-35 in CONCACAF competed in first round. These teams were drawn into 6 groups of 5 teams each. Winners from each group advanced to the second round.
Second Round
6 winners from first round + 29 teams ranked 1-6 & 36-35 in CONCACAF were divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each. Again winners from each group advanced to the third round.
Third Round
8 winners from the second round played home and away matches in a double round robin format. Top 3 teams at the end of this round qualified directly for the World Cup. The fourth placed team advanced to inter-confederation playoffs.
Conclusion
In summary, CONCACAF gets 3 guaranteed spots for the FIFA World Cup. The winner of the final round, and 2nd and 3rd placed teams qualify directly. The fourth placed team gets a shot at qualifying through playoffs. Historically CONCACAF has managed to send 3-4 teams to the World Cup.