Gold Cup group stage a preview of what’s possible in 2026
The World Cup could feature as many as seven CONCACAF teams
The World Cup may be three years away — but there are many teams already thinking that far ahead.
The next World Cup — co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada — will be the first to feature 48 teams, up from the 32 that competed in Qatar last year. That means three of CONCACAF’s three best teams have automatically qualified for the finals.
The expanded field, and new qualifying format, means the region gets three direct spots, while two teams will get a chance to play in inter-confederation playoff slots. As a result, seven teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean can qualify for the World Cup.
The Gold Cup being played this summer is very much a dress rehearsal for qualifying, which starts up in just eight months and will feature 35 nations. Teams like Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador are all hoping to be among the nations that return to the World Cup in 2026.
Costa Rica manager Luis Fernando Suarez, who coached Costa Rica at Qatar 2022, said the level of play within CONCACAF has improved immensely.
“The competition in the region needs to be bigger,” said Suarez, who has also coached his native Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Honduras and Mexico. “The United States is on the right path and Canada has showed that it can play well. They are good examples for us.”
At the 2022 World Cup, only four teams — United States, Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica — represented CONCACAF. While the U.S., Canada and Mexico qualified directly, Costa Rica joined them after winning the inter-confederation playoff against New Zealand.
Only 11 CONCACAF teams have ever played in the World Cup finals. Mexico and the United States were part of the first World Cup in 1930. Cuba made their debut in 1938, followed by El Salvador in 1970, Haiti in 1974, Honduras in 1982, Canada in 1986, Costa Rica in 1990, Jamaica in 1998, Trinidad and Tobago in 2006 and Panama in 2018.
Fans packed into Red Bull Arena in suburban New York on Friday evening for a doubleheader that featured four nations in Group C: Panama against the French territory of Martinique and the night’s marquee all-Central American clash of Costa Rica versus El Salvador.
Panama, Costa Rica and El Salvador have all qualified for the World Cup before. Costa Rica have qualified six times overall and for the past three editions. They are by far the most successful nation from this trio and favorites to qualify once again.
FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup will give it more games, but also gives nations who have missed out on the tournament — in some cases for decades — a real shot at qualifying. For example, Panama have qualified only once (in 2018), while El Salvador only twice (the last time in 1982).
Panama held much of the possession against Martinique. Nonetheless, Martinique defended well and Panama’s attempts were less than clinical. The game, at least in the first half, was a window into how no CONCACAF opponent is easy to face. Even a so-called minnow can put a better team on the ropes.
Panama was jeered at halftime, but the team’s fortunes changed in the second half. Martinique, who FIFA does not recognize as a nation because it is a territory of France, held firm for 57 minutes until a Jose Fajardo goal put Panama ahead. The team known as Los Canaleros because of their famous waterway managed to stay afloat. They ultimately won the game 2-1 and dreams of advancing to the Gold Cup’s knockout round remained very much a possibility.
“We like to see a Panama team that can win. It wasn’t easy,” manager Thomas Christensen admitted after the game. “We had plenty of chances. Now we have to go back and analyze the game and pinpoint where the problems are.”
In the nightcap, Costa Rica and El Salvador played a livelier match. The caliber of play and pace was noticeably faster and better than Panama and Martinique. This was the type of clash, loaded with end-to-end action, we could very well see during qualifying.
In the end, the game ended scoreless.
“I am satisfied,” said El Salvador manager and former USMNT midfielder Hugo Perez, “because we got a result against a tough team.”