World Cup qualifying is coming to a close as more teams punch their tickets to 2026 by the day, and the scene is no different in Concacaf, where there are two matchdays remaining. You can catch all the action on Paramount+ as we will figure out what teams will join the United States, Canada, and Mexico and which teams will enter into the inter-confederation playoffs, which will take place in March 2026 to determine the final spots at the World Cup.
It has been a topsy-turvy slate of Concacaf World Cup qualifying so far, as teams such as Panama and Costa Rica would miss out on direct qualification if things ended right now, but there’s still more games to play to turn things around. After Cape Verde became the second smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup, Curacao could become the smallest if they’re able to win their next two matches, especially a final day tilt with Jamaica. With a population of only 155,000, the Caribbean island would significantly beat Iceland’s record of 350,000 people when they made the 2018 World Cup.
Even if they don’t win the group, there’s still a strong chance to make the inter-confederation playoff. The two best runners-up in Concacaf World Cup qualification will advance to the interconfederation playoffs, where they’ll face a team from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, and OFC regions to determine the final two places in the group stage. That playoff will take place in March in the United States, but before getting ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at the final days of qualification.
Costa Rica are chasing
The Ticos are at risk of missing out on the World Cup despite having one of the strongest forward duos in World Cup Qualification with Alonso Matinez and Manfred Ugalde. Despite the duo, Keylor Navas hasn’t been able to keep goals out of the back of the net, as only three teams have allowed more goals than them in qualification. Facing Haiti on Thursday, both of those teams need a win to attempt to catch Honduras in Group C. Costa Rica are looking to qualify for the fourth straight World Cup, but even though the World Cup has been expanded to more teams, that doesn’t mean that it’ll be easier to make the cut. That defense will come up against Concacaf’s top scorer, Duckens Nazon, who has six goals during qualifying so far, making the job even tougher.
Jamaica look to hold off challengers
The Reggae Boyz haven’t been in the World Cup since 1998, and despite integrating dual national talent, they still face an uphill battle to qualify for this World Cup as well. With Trinidad and Tobago and Curacao on the docket, Jamaica will control their destiny but will need to find consistency in their results. If they didn’t slip up against Curacao back in October, the Reggae Boyz wouldn’t have been in this situation, so winning these matches can’t be taken as a given. Led by Steve McLaren, they’ll be looking from goals via Shamar Nicholson and Demari Gray while Andre Blake is in charge of securing the defense.
Schedule
All times Eastern, all matches available on Paramount+
Thursday, Nov. 13
Tuesday, Nov. 18
