There will be two preliminary rounds which will reduce the 35 entrants, first to 24 teams and then 12; Round 1 and Round 2.

This will then be followed by three semi-final groups of four teams. The top two in each semi-final group will advance to a final six team group.

The top three teams from the final group will qualify for the World Cup. The 4th place team will compete in a home-and-away play off match against the fifth-place team from the South America group.

The countries ranked 13 to 35 make up the teams for the first stage of the qualifying rounds. St. Vincent and the Grenadines go through to the second round automatically as they received a bye in round one.

Round 1 - Home and Away Match

Anguilla v El Salvador
Aruba v Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas v British Virgin Islands
Belize v Saint Kitts and Nevis
Bermuda v Cayman Islands
Dominica v Barbados
Dominican Republic v Puerto Rico
Netherlands Antilles v Nicaragua
Suriname v Montserrat
Turks and Caicos Islands v Saint Lucia
U.S. Virgin Islands v Grenada

Round 2 - Home and Away Match

USA v Barbados or Dominica
Guatemala v Saint Lucia or Turks and Caicos Islands
Trinidad and Tobago v Bermuda or Cayman Islands
Aruba or Antigua and Barbuda v Cuba
Belize or Saint Kitts and Nevis v Mexico
Jamaica v Bahamas or British Virgin Islands
Honduras v Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico
Canada v Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Grenada or U.S. Virgin Islands v Costa Rica
Montserrat or Suriname v Guyana
Panama v Anguilla or El Salvador
Haiti v Netherlands Antilles or Nicaragua