Trinidad and Tobago men’s national football team, the “Soca Warriors” will begin their final quest for a place on football’s biggest stage at next year’s World Cup against only teams from the Caribbean.
T&T were drawn probably in the most favourable group, containing Jamaica, Curacao and Bermuda, in Group B. Similarly, the draw saw Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala and Suriname drawn together, while Costa Rica, Honduras, Haiti and Nicaragua, will battle it out in Group C
“World Cup 2026 is beckoning for us. Book your ticket ,”stated elated former national captain Densill Theobald, who parked his car at the side of the road to witness the draw, soon after training the National Under-15 team.
Theobald has already experienced one World Cup in 2006, as a T&T player and is confident of witnessing another qualification 20 years later.
“We couldn’t have asked for better,” stated Theobald, who this season coached Defence Force to the Tier One club title.
“That is such a favourable draw. It shows God is smiling on us,” Theobald said.
T&T’s final path to the FIFA World Cup 2026, was set last night when the official draw for the third and final round of qualifiers in the CONCACAF zone took place.
Of 32 nations that began qualifying, 12 teams, six from Central America and six from the Caribbean, booked their places in the final round of qualifying.
The Caribbean qualifiers were led by T&T, Jamaica, Haiti, Curaçao, Suriname and Bermuda. Advancing from Central America were Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
Last night’s draw followed a single-blind format and involved four seeded pots, each containing three teams. These pots were determined by the FIFA Men’s World Rankings published in June, 2025.
As a result, the top-ranked teams Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica were placed in Pot 1 and will not face each other in the group stage. The next highest-ranked teams, Honduras, El Salvador, and Curaçao, were assigned to Pot 2. Pot 3 featured Haiti, T&T, and Guatemala, while the lowest-ranked teams Nicaragua, Suriname, and Bermuda were placed in Pot 4.
Third round qualifying takes place during the FIFA international windows in September, October and November, 2025. Teams will play two matches each month, home-and-away. The three group winners will automatically be awarded three direct berths to the World Cup, to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada—who as joint hosts, have all qualified automatically. In addition, the two best second-place teams from the final round will move on to a six-team intercontinental playoff for a chance to qualify.
The intercontinental playoff for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, will bring together six teams from across the globe, each vying for one of the tournament’s final two spots. The field will include the seventh-placed team from South America—a position currently contested by Venezuela and Bolivia—along with one qualifier each from Africa and Asia. Two teams from CONCACAF will also enter the playoff, joined by New Caledonia, the runners-up to New Zealand in the Oceania qualification zone. The playoffs will be played in single-leg knockout matches and the tournament will take place in either one or two of the World Cup host countries.
