2018 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The North, Central American and Caribbean section of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, for national teams which are members of the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). 3.5 slots (3 direct slots and 1 inter-confederation play-off slot) in the final tournament were available for CONCACAF teams. In a change to previous qualification tournaments for this confederation, the first three rounds were played as knockout rounds, with both the fourth round and the final round (referred to  as the "Hexagonal") played as group stages. The first round was played during the FIFA international dates of 23–31 March 2015. CONCACAF announced the full format details on 12 January 2015. The United States failed to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1986 after a surprise defeat by Trinidad and Tobago. As a result, Panama reached the World Cup for the first time in their history. Format. The qualification structure was as follows: Entrants. All 35 FIFA-affiliated national teams from CONCACAF entered qualification. The seeding – used to draw the first four rounds of the  qualifiers – was based on the FIFA World Rankings of August 2014 (shown in parentheses). Schedule. The schedule of the competition was as follows. The inter-confederation play-offs were scheduled to be played between 6–14 November 2017. First round. The draw for the first round was held on 15 January 2015, 19:40 EST (), at the W Hotel at Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Second round. The draw for the second round was held on 15 January 2015, 19:40 EST (), at the W Hotel at Miami Beach, Florida, United States. Third round. The draw for the third round was held as  part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Fourth round. The draw for the fourth round was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia. Fifth round. As with every World Cup qualification campaign since 1998, CONCACAF held a six-team, home-and-away round-robin group known as the 'Hexagonal', or 'Hex', as its final and decisive round. As a result of the  abolition of the February and August fixtures from the FIFA calendar, the 'Hex' for the first time was not contained within a single calendar year, but instead began in November 2016 and concluded in October 2017. The draw for the fifth round (to decide the fixtures) was held on 8 July 2016, 10:00 EDT (), at the CONCACAF headquarters in Miami Beach, United States. Inter-confederation play-offs. The draw for the inter-confederation play-offs was held as part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Preliminary Draw on 25 July 2015, starting 18:00 MSK (), at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna , Saint Petersburg. The fourth-placed team from CONCACAF was drawn against the fifth-placed team from Asian Football Confederation (AFC), with the CONCACAF team hosting the first leg. Qualified teams. The following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.