2026 Concacaf U-20 Qualifiers Set to Kick Off Monday

2026 Concacaf U-20 Qualifiers Set to Kick Off Monday 

• Tournament serves as the qualifying event for the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship

• 32 Member Associations set to feature in round-robin style competition

• Matches to be held in Costa Rica, Curaçao, and Nicaragua from Feb. 23 to March 4, 2026

Miami, FL (Monday, February 23, 2026) – The 2026 Concacaf U-20 Qualifiers are set to kick off today, Monday, Feb. 23. The tournament will feature 32 Member Associations and serves as the initial phase of the region’s men’s FIFA U-20 World Cup Qualifiers. 

The qualifiers will be played across three host countries – Costa Rica, Curaçao, and Nicaragua – from Feb. 23 to March 4, with the participating teams competing for six available spots in the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship. 

Competition Format 

The participating Member Associations have been divided into six groups, with each group competing in a round-robin format. At the conclusion of play, the first-place team from each group will advance to the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship, joining the six top-ranked nations that have been pre-qualified directly to the tournament.  

Qualification Pathway 

The 2026 Concacaf U-20 Qualifiers serve as the first stage of the region’s men’s U-20 competition pathway. The six group winners will advance to the Championship, where they will be joined by six pre-qualified teams. 

The Championship will serve as the region’s final round of qualifying for two global competitions, the FIFA Men’s U-20 World Cup 2027 and the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. 

Participating Teams 

The 32 national teams participating in the qualifiers are (in alphabetical order): Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, and US Virgin Islands. 

The six national teams pre-seeded in the Championship are (in ranking order): United States (1), Mexico (2), Honduras (3), Panama (4), Cuba (5), and Guatemala (6). 

The Qualifiers’ groups were drawn as follows: 

Group A: El Salvador, Suriname, Belize, Grenada, Saint Martin, French Guiana 

Group B: Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Bonaire 

Group C: Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, British Virgin Islands, Dominica 

Group D: Haiti, Curaçao, Guyana, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla   

Group E: Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Barbados, Sint Maarten   

Group F: Canada, Nicaragua, Aruba, Martinique, US Virgin Islands   

Host Venues 

Estadio Miguel Chocorrón Buitrago in Managua, Nicaragua, will host Group A and Group F; Group B and Group D matches will be played at Stadion Rignaal ‘Jean’ Francisca in Willemstad, Curaçao; and Group C and Group E matches will be held at the Complejo Deportivo FCRF-Plycem in San Rafael de Alajuela, Costa Rica.    

Where to Watch 

Fans will be able to follow the 2026 Concacaf Men’s U-20 Qualifiers through Concacaf’s television and digital partner networks, including FOX’s television and digital platforms (United States), ESPN | Disney+ (Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America), OneSoccer (Canada), and the Concacaf Official Platforms for all other territories (subject to territory restrictions). 

Schedule 

Concacaf U-20 Qualifiers matches will be played daily from Monday, Feb. 23, to Wednesday, March 4.  

The full match schedule for the tournament can be found here.  

2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship 

The 12-team Championship is scheduled for the summer of 2026, running from July 25 to Aug. 9, and will feature the region's 12 best men's U-20 national teams divided into three groups of four.  

After round-robin play, the two top teams of each group and the two best third-place teams will advance to a Knockout Stage comprised of the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Final.   

Further details regarding the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship, including the tournament's host nation and draw details, will be published at a later date.    

In the previous edition of the Concacaf U-20 Championship, played in Mexico in 2024, Mexico won the title by defeating the United States 2-1 in the Final.