Yeah, though I'm not sure if it helps or hurts them. They would have qualified pretty easily anyway giving all the spots CONCACAF gets for the 48-team WC. The thing that will definitely help is the inevitable top seed they will receive for the final WC draw.
I wonder what would morocco say if FIFA approaches them with following: you get the world cup but you can't participate
Have the fixtures for the South American World Cup qualifiers been announced yet? At one point I’m sure I read these were supposed to be starting on 25th March but I can’t find any fixtures.
I haven’t seen anything either. My gusss is it’ll start this fall. That’s when the 2018 qualifiers started in October 2015. 2022 was delayed/condensed due to COVID but that also started in October 2020
I’m guessing the March start was speculated by those who believed CONMEBOL teams would be participating in the next edition of the UEFA Nations League (?)
If the CONMEBOL bid wins for 2030, I guess WC qualifying in CONMEBOL would consist of a HEX- style format {Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia}, with top 3 qualifying automatically and 4th-place going to the playoff. Very similar to what CONCACAF used to have pre-2018.
Wow. I hadn’t thought of that in the case that the CHUPAR wins the bid. If all 3 of the 2026 hosts automatically, i can’t imagine they would change that for the 4 host nations in 2030
CALENDARIO DE CONCACAF 2023-2022 Tendrán 4 competiciones en colaboración con la Copa America CONMEBOL 📍Nations League 2023-24📍Gold Cup 2023 y 2025📍CONCACAF QUALIFIERS para FIFA World Cup 2024-25📍COPA AMERICA 2024Y terminara con la Copa Mundial 2026 FIFA 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/6UyNXwgWIz— CONCACAF Zone (@TodoConcacaf) February 28, 2023
Is that plan dead? I don't think there will be time for it unless the qualifiers start in June at the latest.
If it isn't, no one told UEFA: they already announced the format for 2024-25 Nations League with the added QF round, and there was no room in it for guest teams.
The four CHUPAR hosts qualifying automatically only leaves 2 more direct berths for Conmebol... I agree that the Hex is the most likely outcome, but with the top 2 qualifying directly and the next 2 going to the playoffs (Conmebol would get a 2nd playoff berth as the host confederation).
Oh right. I was thinking that the host confederation gets an extra spot, but you're right - they only get an extra playoff spot.
WC/Copa Qualifying news. "In terms of qualification for the 2026 World Cup, with Canada, Mexico and the U.S. automatically qualifying as hosts, there will be an additional three spots as well as two intercontinental playoff positions for which CONCACAF teams will vie. There will be three rounds of qualifying, including a final phase of 12 teams in which there will be three groups of four teams. The three group winners will qualify with the two best second place teams moving on to the intercontinental playoff." https://www.espn.com/soccer/concaca...als-revamped-world-cupcopa-america-qualifying
Also, I am hearing the aforementioned WC intercontinental playoff tournament involving 6 teams will likely be played in one single location. Miami probably should be the place in my opinion considering it will be November (weather) and easier for most teams to Fly back for most of the Confederations.
Just don't like it when group winners qualify and 2nd place teams could be eliminated with no playoff or second chance. So, much boils down to the draw (and thus, the FIFA ranking) and which pot 1 team you end up with. Maybe it doesn't matter so much in the current cycle given that the 3 best teams in CONCACAF are not involved in qualifying. But there could still be a big difference whether you draw Costa Rica as the pot 1 team in your group or Jamaica.
Yes. As of right now I think Costa Rica, Honduras and El Salvador would be the seeds but it all depends on earlier round upsets and anything can happen when it comes to FIFA rankings. That said, if those teams are separated it would be ideal for CONCACAF and FIFA to have the obvious two qualify for attendance. I know it is not supposed to be about stuff like that but my gut is saying that is part of the reason why they did this. Honduras and El Salvador will bring people in droves for the inaugural qualifying playoffs and World Cup.
I could see AFC sides - and our own Central American contingent - lobbying for California. I agree, but I'd point the concern to the other end: with any pot 1 team being a difficult piñata to break, the bigger question is which pot 4 team is in your group. I'd be livid if the last team in my group were Guatemala, while the other sides got to play patticake with St. Vincent and Belize.
Yeah but theres a big difference from Panama missing out vs a team like Egypt. If you just went chalk on what the groups would be: A: Costa Rica, Curacao, Haiti, St. Kitts B: Panama, Honduras, Trinidad, Suriname C: Jamaica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Antigua That drop off from the 3rd to 4th pot is very real. Again a lot can happen and upsets can really mess with things but we could get a pure Caribbean group out of it which would be a ton of fun to watch. The other thing that will be very interesting to watch in CONCACAF specifically is how recruiting will work. Jamaica, Haiti, and Curacao may be able to get some legit dual nationals with the promise of World Cup play.
*Edit California can work, my bad. But there's issues with artificial turf in Los Angeles, while Santa Clara has been rated poorly for their grass from what I have heard. Central Americans love Miami in general just as much as California. So I think it would mostly be just the Asian contingent clamoring for Cali.
Santa Clara had terrible problems with the grass when the stadium opened, but they figured it out in time to host the Super Bowl in 2016. That's not really a problem anymore. In March 2026 the host venues that normally have artificial turf will probably be in the process of installing grass for the summer and wouldn't be available. Does it have to be in the US? Why not Mexico? The playoff is really two three-team tournaments, two matches each. It would be nice to at least split those into two locations.