CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup
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).
The 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, 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. CONCACAF announced the full format details on 12 January 2015.
First Round
The draw for the first round was held on 15 January 2015, 19:40 EST (UTC−5), at the W Hotel at Miami Beach, Florida, United States.
Second Round
The draw for the second round was held on 15 January 2015, 19:40 EST (UTC−5), at the W Hotel at Miami Beach, Florida, United States.
Third Round
The draw for the third round was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Fourth Round
The draw for the fourth round was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (UTC+3), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
As with every World Cup qualification campaign since 1998, CONCACAF is holding a six-team, home-and-away round-robin group known as the ‘Hexagonal’, or ‘Hex’, as its final and decisive round. As a result of the abolition of the February and August fixtures from the FIFA calendar, the ‘Hex’ will for the first time not be contained within a single calendar year, but instead began in November 2016 and will conclude in October 2017.
The draw for the fifth round (to decide the fixtures) was held on 8 July 2016, 10:00 EDT (UTC−4), at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach, United States.
