The 2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup group stage was played from 28 July to 27 August 2026. A total of 20 teams competed in the group stage to decide the 8 places in the knockout stage of the 2026 CONCACAF Central American Cup. Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 26 May 2026, at 20:00 ET (UTC−4), in Miami, Florida, United States. The 20 involved teams were previously seeded into five pots of four teams each based on their CONCACAF Club Ranking as of 25 May 2026. +Pot 1 Team Alajuelense 39 Herediano 42 Olimpia 43 Municipal 45+Pot 2 Team Saprissa 46 Plaza Amador 55 Antigua 57 Motagua 58+Pot 3 Team Xelajú 59 Cartaginés 60 Marathón 62 Mixco 64+Pot 4 Team Alianza 68 Firpo 71 Real Estelí 72 FAS 75+Pot 5 Team Diriangén 80 Alianza 82 UMECIT 88 Verdes 182 For the group stage, the 20 teams were drawn into four groups (Groups A–D) of five containing a team from each of the five pots. Teams from pot 1 were drawn first and were placed in the first position of their group, starting from Group A to Group D. The same procedure was followed for teams from pots 2, 3, 4 and 5, and they were placed in positions 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively, within the group to which they were drawn. Each group must contain no more than two clubs from the same national association.
The draw resulted in the following groups:
+ Group ATeamA1 AlajuelenseA2 Plaza AmadorA3 XelajúA4 FirpoA5 Diriangén+ Group BTeamB1 HeredianoB2 AntiguaB3 MarathónB4 Real EstelíB5 Alianza+ Group CTeamC1 OlimpiaC2 SaprissaC3 MixcoC4 AlianzaC5 UMECIT+ Group DTeamD1 MunicipalD2 MotaguaD3 CartaginésD4 FASD5 Verdes
Format
In the group stage, each group is played on a single home-and-away round-robin basis, with teams playing against each other once, for a total of four matches per team (two home and two away). The teams are ranked according to the following criteria (Regulations Article 12.10.1): Points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 points for a loss); Goal difference; Goals scored; If two or more teams are still tied after applying the above criteria, their rankings would be determined as follows: Head-to-head points in the matches played among the tied teams; Head-to-head goal difference in the matches played among the tied teams; Head-to-head goals scored in the matches played among the tied teams; The lowest number of fairplay points, based on the following criteria: Yellow card: plus 1 point; Second yellow card/indirect red card: plus 3 points; direct red card: plus 4 points;; Yellow card and direct red card: plus 5 points; CONCACAF Club Ranking after the group stage is completed. Drawing of lots by CONCACAF. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the quarter-finals of the knockout stage.
Schedule Matches in the competition were played on either Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday as decided by CONCACAF. The schedule of each week was as follows (Regulations Article 2).
WeeksDatesMatchesWeek 128–30 July 2026Team 1 vs. Team 3, Team 5 vs. Team 2Week 24–6 August 2026Team 5 vs. Team 1, Team 2 vs. Team 4Week 311–13 August 2026Team 4 vs. Team 5, Team 2 vs. Team 3Week 418–20 August 2026Team 4 vs. Team 1, Team 3 vs. Team 5Week 525–27 August 2026Team 1 vs. Team 2, Team 3 vs. Team 4
Groups All match times are in EDT (UTC−4) and local times are in parentheses, as listed by CONCACAF.
Group A
Group B
Group C
Group D
References
External links