MIAMI: Thirty-two Central American and Caribbean nations will start qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in March 2024 as part of a competition in which teams will play up to 12 matches to reach the tournament.
The US, Mexico and Canada receive automatic berths as co-hosts of the World Cup, to be played in June and July 2026. The number of possible matches was reduced from the 20 Canada played to reach last year’s tournament in Qatar.
The Confederation of North and Central American and Caribbean Association Football said Tuesday that qualifying will start with a first round in March 2024 involving the four lowest teams in the FIFA rankings as of November 2023, who will play a home-and-home series in which the highest-ranked team meets the lowest-ranked.
If current rankings were used, No. 206 Turks and Caicos Islands would play No. 210 Anguilla, and No. 208 US Virgin Islands would play No.