concacaf Announces Format for 2030 World Cup Qualifying
The Confederation of North, central America and Caribbean association Football (Concacaf) has unveiled the format for the 2030 FIFA World Cup qualifying process. The qualifying tournament will determine which nations from the region will join co-hosts United States, Mexico, and Canada in the expanded 48-team World Cup.
The qualifying process will begin with a group stage, followed by a final round. The top two teams from each group will advance to a 12-nation final round, played in June 2028, and September and October 2029. These teams will be divided into three groups of four, with each nation playing six matches. The top two teams from each of these final-round groups will automatically qualify for the 2030 World Cup, which will be primarily hosted in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with games also taking place in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
The two third-place teams with the best records will participate in a Concacaf home-and-home, total-goals playoff in November 2029. The winner of this playoff will advance to FIFA’s intercontinental playoffs for a final chance to qualify.
Due to the new format, the United States and Mexico are unlikely to face each other during the qualifying stages.
The expansion of the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams has allowed Concacaf to double it’s automatic qualifying berths to six. As co-hosts, the United States, mexico, and Canada have already secured automatic qualification. Curaçao, Haiti, and Panama have also earned berths directly into qualifying. Jamaica will compete in playoffs next month against New Caledonia and Congo for a potential seventh Concacaf berth.
In other news, Concacaf announced that the 2027 Nations League semifinals and final will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Sources:
* https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/concacaf-qualifying-format-for-2030-world-cup-announced
Keep reading