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.
Qualified teams The following teams finished first or second in their respective second round groups:
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 (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.
+From the April 2025 FIFA Men's World Ranking Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Schedule Matches took place in September, October, and November 2025.
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
Group B
Group C
Ranking of second-placed teams
Goalscorers
Discipline A player was automatically suspended for the next match for the following infractions: 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) 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) 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) 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) Getsel Montes vs Costa Rica (9 October 2025) vs Haiti (13 November 2025) vs Costa Rica (18 November 2025) Isaac Hayden vs Bermuda (5 September 2025) vs Trinidad and Tobago (9 September 2025) vs Curaçao (10 October 2025) 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) Aníbal Godoy vs Guatemala (8 September 2025) vs Guatemala (13 November 2025) vs El Salvador (18 November 2025) Dhoraso Klas vs Panama (4 September 2025) vs El Salvador (8 September 2025) vs Guatemala (10 October 2025) Alvin Jones vs Costa Rica (10 June 2025) vs Curaçao (5 September 2025)
References
External links