MIAMI (AP) – The governing body for soccer in North, Central America and the Caribbean has announced that there will be six automatic spots for the 2030 World Cup, with a seventh available as part of the intercontinental playoffs.
CONCACAF made the announcement on Friday, but FIFA does not appear to have announced the allocation of spots for each confederation, with the president of South American confederation CONMEBOL proposing to expand the competition to 64 countries again.
The FIFA Media Office said in an email that it is investigating whether the allocations among the federations have been decided.
CONCACAF announced Friday that qualifying will begin in September 2027, with teams ranked 14th to 35th competing in the first round based on home-and-home goals total.
The 11 winning countries will advance to the second round along with the top 13 countries in the rankings. The 24 teams will be divided into six groups of four teams each, with each country playing six matches in October and November 2027 and March 2028.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the 12-nation final round, which will be held in June 2028 and September and October 2029. There will be three final round groups, with each country playing six matches. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the 2030 World Cup. The World Cup will be held primarily in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one match each in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The top two teams in third place will advance to the CONCACAF Home & Home Total Goals Playoffs to be held in November 2029. The winner advances to FIFA’s intercontinental playoffs.
With the expansion of the World Cup from 32 teams in 2022 to 48 teams this year, CONCACAF has doubled the number of automatic spots to six teams. The United States, Mexico and Canada earned automatic spots as co-hosts, while Curaçao, Haiti and Panama qualified.
Jamaica has a chance to clinch a seventh spot next month in a play-off against New Caledonia and Congo.
CONCACAF also announced that the 2027 Nations League semifinals and final will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
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