CONCACAF Announces 6 Automatic World Cup 2030 Spots

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CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central American and Caribbean soccer, announced that it will have six automatic qualifying spots for the 2030 World Cup. A seventh spot will be available through an intercontinental playoff. The qualifying process will begin in September 2027 and conclude in October 2029, with the top two teams from each of three final-round groups earning direct World Cup berths.

Why it matters

This allocation of World Cup spots represents a significant increase for CONCACAF, which had only three automatic berths for the 2022 World Cup. The expanded spots reflect CONCACAF’s growing influence and competitiveness on the global soccer stage, particularly with the United States, Mexico, and Canada serving as co-hosts for the 2030 tournament.

The details

Under CONCACAF’s new qualifying format, the teams ranked 14th through 35th in the confederation will play a home-and-home, total-goals first round in September 2027. The 11 winners will advance to the second round along with CONCACAF’s top 13-ranked nations. Those 24 teams will be split into six four-team groups, with each nation playing six matches from October to November 2027 and March 2028. The top two teams in each group will advance to a 12-nation final round in June 2028, September 2029, and October 2029. The top two teams in each of the three final-round groups will qualify directly for the 2030 World Cup, while the top two third-place teams will advance to a CONCACAF playoff for the seventh and final spot.

• CONCACAF qualifying will start in September 2027.
• The 24-team final round will be played in June 2028, September 2029, and October 2029.
• The CONCACAF playoff for the seventh World Cup spot will be in November 2029.

What’s next

FIFA is still determining the full allocation of World Cup berths for each confederation, so the details of CONCACAF’s qualifying process could be subject to change.