The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acts as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, to be held in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). A total of 3.5 slots (3 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament are available for CONCACAF teams.
In a change to previous qualification tournaments for this confederation,[2] the first three rounds will be played as knockout rounds, with both the fourth round and the final round (referred to as 'The Hexagonal') played as group stages. The first round was played during the FIFA international dates of 23-31 March 2015.[3] CONCACAF announced the full format details on 12 January 2015
Format
The qualification structure is as follows:
First round: A total of 14 teams (teams ranked 22–35) will play home-and-away over two legs. The seven winners will advance to the second round.
Second round: A total of 20 teams (teams ranked 9–21 and seven first round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The ten winners will advance to the third round.
Third round: A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 7–8 and ten second round winners) will play home-and-away over two legs. The six winners will advance to the fourth round.
Fourth round: A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 1–6 and six third round winners) will be divided into three groups of four teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches. The top two teams of each group will advance to the fifth round.
Fifth round: The six teams which advance from the fourth round will play home-and-away round-robin matches in one single group (often referred to as the "Hexagonal"). The top three teams will qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the fourth-placed team will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
The Second round will be over today, with the 3rd round starting in August.
