What fun are sports if you can't take jabs at your eternal rivals when they fall flat on their face? To answer the question in the thread title, no they don't, and they prove it every time they shout the homophobic chant, they've had countless opportunities to prove they are above it, but clear they aren't
The USA, Canada, and Mexico are hosts in 2026, so all 3 countries will auto qualify. I can't imagine FIFA telling Canada and Mexico that they would not auto qualify for an event those countries are hosting.
If the field is indeed expanded to 48 teams, the three host nations receiving an automatic bid is pretty much a non-issue. The intriguing question for 2026 is how many spots will be allocated for the rest of CONCACAF. There's a real chance for nations that haven't qualified in forever like El Salvador...............................
Considering what CONCACAF is, Mexico and the US are always automatically qualified*. *Except when beaten by soccer powerhouse Trinidad & Tobago.
The allocation of slots was approved by FIFA prior to the awarding of the bid (with host slots to be taken from the confederation's original allocation). AFC 8 CAF 9 CONCACAF 6 CONMEBOL 6 OFC 1 UEFA 16 Playoff 2 For the playoff, each confederation except UEFA provides one team, and the host confederation provides one more team. The playoff will be conducted as a 6-team tournament in the host country(ies). So CONCACAF will have three open slots for regular qualifying, plus two more that will go to the playoff.
Tyler Boyd kicking himself? New Zealand seems to have played very, very few games since the start of calendar year 2019. Their FIFA ranking is down at 110 now. If they were in CONCACAF, they'd be the 12th ranked team. Their WCQing campaign doesn't even start until March.
All NZ has to do is field their Rugby Union team and the otherside will forfeit after seeing the Haka.
Plus.................the event is being expanded to 48 teams in 2026. So, 3 spots for hosts is really no big deal.