With the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States less than a year away, CONCACAF’s groups for the final stage of qualification were recently unveiled.
Costa Rica, Honduras, Haiti and Nicaragua will all battle it out for one direct slot in the World Cup.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is easily the strongest team in the group and one of the strongest teams in CONCACAF. They have qualified for six World Cups with their first being in 1990. The 21st century has seen Los Ticos qualify for all FIFA World Cups, apart from the 2010 edition.
Their most successful campaign undoubtedly came in Brazil at the 2014 World Cup. They were placed in Group D alongside England, Italy, and Uruguay, who have won a combined seven World Cups.
That being said, Los Ticos surprisingly came back from behind to beat Uruguay 3-1 before Bryan Ruiz scored a winning header to beat Italy 1-0. After a 0-0 draw to England, Jorge Luis Pinto’s side beat Greece on penalties in the round of 16.
They narrowly lost on penalties in the quarter-finals to the Netherlands, albeit this remains the furthest Los Ticos have reached in the tournament. Only the United States has made it further in a World Cup from CONCACAF.
Costa Rica was also a few minutes away from qualifying out of their 2022 World Cup Group, which contained Spain, Germany and group-winners Japan.
They are currently ranked as the 54th best nation in the world. This is a big fall from their ranking of 13th just a decade ago.
That being said, Costa Rica has two wins from two so far in their Gold Cup campaign. They also won every match in the previous round of World Cup qualifying, only conceding once.
Honduras
Honduras have qualified for the World Cup on three previous occasions, failing to get out of the group in any of their previous editions. Honduras’ last appearance in a FIFA World Cup came in Brazil back in 2014.
During qualification for the 2014 Brazil World Cup, they beat Canada 8-1 in Toronto in their final match, qualifying for the final stage of qualification. It was here where they finished third in the Hexagonal qualification spot, placing above Mexico in the process.
In the World Cup, they were placed alongside France, Ecuador and Switzerland in Group E. In their first game, they lost 3-0 to France, which was then followed up by a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador in Curitiba.
Their final match saw Los Catrachos lose 3-0 to Switzerland, with Xherdan Shaqiri scoring a hat-trick.
As of now, they are managed by Reinaldo Rueda, who managed Ecuador in their win over Honduras. Rueda had also previously managed Colombia and Chile.
His side is ranked 75th in the FIFA World Rankings, with their highest position being 20th in September 2001.
Los Catrachos currently sit second in their Nations League group, just a point off group leaders Jamaica.
Despite this however, Honduras have had a horrible opening game in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, getting destroyed 6-0 by Canada, who have gained significant progress over recent years.
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Haiti
Haiti are currently ranked 83rd by the FIFA World Rankings, their highest position in four years.
Nicknamed ‘Les Grenadiers’, they have been managed by Sébastien Migné since 2024. He has previously managed other national teams such as the Republic of the Congo, Kenya and Equatorial Guinea.
Haiti are the only other team from this group to qualify for the World Cup previously, with this coming back in 1974 in West Germany.
Les Grenadiers were placed in a group alongside Poland, Argentina and Italy. In their first match, they led Italy 1-0 before conceding three goals in the second half.
That was followed by a 7-0 defeat to Poland, who topped the group, before a 4-1 defeat to Argentina.
Despite their poor results in the tournament, Haiti were the only side from CONCACAF to qualify for the tournament. They were also the first team from the Caribbean to qualify since Cuba in 1938.
As of late, Haiti came second in their group in the previous round of World Cup qualifiers, behind Curacao.
On top of this, they won their Nations League Group in Pot B, where they won all of their matches, and scored 29 goals in six matches.
Despite this form, Migné’s side is on the verge of getting knocked out of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, after a 1-0 loss to Saudi Arabia and a 1-1 draw against Trinidad and Tobago.
In their final match they faced the United States, losing 4-3 on penalties.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua are ranked 133rd in the FIFA World Rankings, with their highest rank being 92nd back in 2015.
They are managed by Marco Antonio Figueroa, a Chilean national. He has managed them since 2022.
La Azul y Blancos qualified for the final round, finishing second place in their group behind Panama. They won three matches, losing the final one 3-0 to Panama.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Nicaragua won their Nations League Group, gaining promotion to Group A. So far this campaign, they currently sit third out of the six teams in Pot A Group 2 after four matches.
Despite this, Nicaragua failed to qualify for the CONCACAF 2025 Gold Cup.
In 2023, Nicaragua was kicked out of the 2023 Gold Cup after the Concacaf Disciplinary Committee found the federation guilty of fielding an ineligible player in eight matches. This was the reason for La Azul y Blancos’ relegation to League B in the 2023/24 campaign of the Nations League.
Due to their placement in the latest campaign, they had to face Guadeloupe in the preliminary phase of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, who defeated Figueroa’s side 2-0 over two legs.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire
Recording Date: 29.06.2025