2026 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF first round

The first round of CONCACAF matches for 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification were played on 22 and 26 March 2024.[1]

Format

Four teams, ranked as the bottom four in the CONCACAF entrant list, played home-and-away over two legs in two ties. The two winners advanced to the second round.[2]

Seeding

The seeding was based on the FIFA Men's World Ranking of December 2023 (shown in parentheses).[3][4]

Note: Bolded teams qualified for the second round.

Seeded Unseeded

The first round ties were predetermined as follows:

  • First-ranked team vs fourth-ranked team
  • Second-ranked team vs third-ranked team

The lower-ranked teams hosted the first leg, while the higher-ranked teams hosted the second leg.

Summary

The first legs were played on 22 March, while the second legs were played on 26 March 2024.[5]

Team 1Agg. Tooltip Aggregate scoreTeam 21st leg2nd leg
Anguilla 1–1 (4–3 p) Turks and Caicos Islands0–01–1 (a.e.t.)
U.S. Virgin Islands 1–1 (2–4 p) British Virgin Islands1–10–0 (a.e.t.)

Matches

Turks and Caicos Islands 1–1 (a.e.t.) Anguilla
  • Forbes 23'
 Report (FIFA)
Penalties
 3–4
Attendance: 337
Referee: Reginald Gumbs (St. Kitts and Nevis)

1–1 on aggregate. Anguilla won 4–3 on penalties and advanced to the second round (Group F).

U.S. Virgin Islands 1–1 British Virgin Islands
 Report (FIFA)
Report (CONCACAF)
Referee: Katia Itzel García (Mexico)

1–1 on aggregate. British Virgin Islands won 4–2 on penalties and advanced to the second round (Group E).

Goalscorers

There were 4 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 1 goal per match.

1 goal

References

  1. ^ "CONCACAF announces schedule for first two rounds of CONCACAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026". CONCACAF. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  2. ^ "CONCACAF announces formats for men's national team competitions for the 2023–2026 cycle". CONCACAF. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Draw Procedures for the CONCACAF Preliminary Draw for the FIFA World Cup 26" (PDF). FIFA. 23 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Men's Ranking – December 2023". FIFA. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  5. ^ "CONCACAF announces schedule for first two rounds of CONCACAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026". CONCACAF. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.