The North American federation, CONCACAF, takes the cake for most roundabout and convoluted World Cup qualification system. Though the end result - the hexagonal - is fantastic, the way that we get there is less great. The first round has already taken place, with the 10 lowest ranked teams in CONCACAF having played a home and away playoff in the first round. That round eliminated Montserrat, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Aruba, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
Second round qualifying includes the winners of those ties - Belize, Dominican Republic, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia and Bahamas - and the 7th-25th ranked teams in CONCACAF, who receive a bye to the second round. The top six teams in the confederation - The United States, Mexico, Honduras, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Cuba - receive a bye to the third round, which is the round before the hexagonal. The Second Round consists of six groups and the six group winners join the top six teams in CONCACAF in the second round.
The top three teams in the hexagonal go straight to the World Cup, while the team that finishes in fourth goes to a playoff with a team from Oceania.
Second Round
Group A
El Salvador
Suriname
Cayman Islands
Dominican Republic
Group B
Trinidad and Tobago
Guyana
Barbados
Bermuda
Group C
Panama
Dominica
Nicaragua
Bahamas
Group D
Canada
St. Kitts and Nevis
Puerto Rico
St. Lucia
Group E
Grenada
Guatemala
St. Vincent and Grenadines
Belize
Group F
Haiti
Antigua and Barbuda
Curacao
U.S. Virgin Islands
Third Round
Group A
United States
Jamaica
Winner - Group E, Second Round
Winner - Group F, Second Round
Group B
Mexico
Costa Rica
Winner - Group A, Second Round
Winner - Group B, Second Round
Group C
Honduras
Cuba
Winner - Group D, Second Round
Winner - Group C, Second Round
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