Concacaf's 2025: A year in review
Curaçao, Haiti and Panama qualified for the World Cup, while Inter Miami and Monterrey enjoyed solid Club World Cup displays.
Curaçao, Haiti and Panama emerged triumphant from World Cup qualifying
Jamaica and Suriname progressed to the FIFA Play-off Tournament
Inter Miami and Monterrey stood out for the region at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025
It was another spectacular year of football in the Concacaf region in 2025 both at the club and national team level. Qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ saw three teams – Curaçao, Haiti and Panama - punch their ticket to the global showpiece, while Jamaica and Suriname progressed to next March's FIFA Play-off Tournament.
A pair of Concacaf club sides also had notable performances at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ with Inter Miami from Major League Soccer (MLS) and Mexican side Monterrey getting past tough group stage opposition to reach the last 16.
World Cup 2026 co-hosts Mexico thrived in continental competitions, clinching titles in both the Concacaf Nations League and the Concacaf Gold Cup, with the country’s U-17 women also distinguished themselves with a podium finish at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2025™.
Qualifying resumed in June with the final two matchdays of the second round during which 12 teams booked their spots in the third and decisive stage, beginning in September.
Group A was full of twists and turns, beginning with the fact that no home team won until the November window. Going into the finales, all four sides remained alive with surprising Suriname at the top of the heap, but their final matchday defeat in Guatemala and Panama’s win over El Salvador catapulted the Canaleros into a first-place finish and a World Cup berth.
Group B saw Curaçao and Jamaica joust for the top spot throughout the six matchdays, leaving Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago behind. Things ended with a sizzling encounter between the Blue Wave and Reggae Boyz in Kingston. Requiring only a draw, Curaçao fulfilled the dream of a lifetime with a scoreless stalemate to reach their first World Cup.
Costa Rica and Honduras were viewed as the favourites in Group C, but someone forgot to tell Haiti and Les Grenadiers closed qualifying in superb form with clean sheet wins over Costa Rica and Nicaragua to capture a spot in the global showpiece, their first since 1974.
The three previous editions of the Concacaf Nations League had seen USA triumph at every turn, but 2025 proved different, as Mexico lifted the trophy at World Cup 2026 venue Los Angeles Stadium in a 2-1 victory over Panama with star striker Raul Jimenez bagging a brace.
The 2026 co-hosts then squared off in the decider of the Gold Cup at another World Cup venue, Houston Stadium, and once again El Tricolor hoisted the hardware after a 2-1 win over USA, with Jimenez and Edson Alvarez supplying the goals.
Liga MX side Cruz Azul also etched their name into the record books with their seventh Concacaf Champions Cup title, as they dismantled Vancouver Whitecaps of MLS in the final, 5-0. The triumph not only secured a place in the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2025™ for La Maquina, but also qualified them for the FIFA Club World Cup 2029™.
What a rise it has been for the Club Tijuana starlet. At the tender age of 16, Mora dazzled audiences at the Gold Cup, starting three matches for Mexico and recording an assist to help the 2026 co-hosts secure their tenth crown. He then sparkled for his country at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025™, scoring three goals and contributing a pair of assists in leading Mexico to a quarter-final finish. No doubt Mora will be in the mix for head coach Javier Aguirre’s final World Cup roster.
2025 will be a year that Richards will never forget. The Alabama-born 25-year-old centre-back was one of the back-line anchors for Crystal Palace in their run to the FA Cup title, the club’s first. He then helped the London-based outfit earn a second piece of hardware later in the year in the FA Community Shield. At international level, he spearheaded USA’s run to the Gold Cup final, scoring the winning goal against Saudi Arabia and then tallying the lone USA score in their narrow final defeat to Mexico. Richards has quickly become one of the first names on head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s teamsheet.
The Nigeria-born Oluwaseyi pledged his international future to Canada in 2024 and hasn’t looked back. The 25-year-old Villarreal forward quickly captured the hearts of Canada fans by scoring in the 2-1 win over southern neighbours USA in the 2025 Nations League Third-Place Match. He followed that up with a goal against Honduras in the Gold Cup, and clearly has the attention of head coach Jesse Marsch, who recently remarked that Oluwaseyi is the frontrunner to be their No9 in 2026.
The Blue Wave are in the World Cup for the first time, and Comenencia is a big reason why. The 21-year-old is officially listed as a right-back, but it was his ability to roam forward in midfield that confounded opponents in qualifying. His awareness to make perfectly-timed run leaves defenders helpless and creates plenty of scoring chances, including his sizzling strike in a crucial 2-0 qualifying win over Jamaica. Despite his youth, he played in all eight qualifiers in 2025 for head coach Dick Advocaat, plus Curaçao’s three Gold Cup matches.
All signs point toward Deedson making Haiti’s roster for their first World Cup since 1974, and he’ll feel right at home in the USA where he currently plies his trade for MLS side FC Dallas. The 24-year-old right wing menace had four goals in qualifying, including one in each victory against Nicaragua in the third round, on top of a goal against USA in the Gold Cup.
Two more Concacaf countries could join next year’s global showpiece, as Jamaica and Suriname take part in the FIFA Play-off Tournament in March in Mexico.
Jamaica are in pathway 1 at Guadalajara Stadium and must first navigate past New Caledonia to then set up a World Cup-or-bust match-up against Congo DR. Meanwhile, Suriname will head to Monterrey Stadium and attempt to defeat Bolivia to advance to a winner-take-all contest against Iraq.
Should both Jamaica and Suriname emerge from their play-off pathways, the Concacaf region will boast eight teams at World Cup 2026, joining co-hosts Canada, Mexico and USA, along with qualified nations Curaçao, Haiti and Panama.
The 48-team extravaganza will then commence on 11 June at Mexico City Stadium with Mexico facing South Africa. One day later, USA will open versus Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium, while Canada clash with the winner of UEFA play-off B at Toronto Stadium.
On 13 June, Haiti’s World Cup return culminates with a date against Scotland at Boston Stadium, followed the next day by a debut for Curaçao against Germany at Houston Stadium. Panama are slotted to begin their campaign on 18 June against Ghana in Toronto.
At club level, the Concacaf Champions Cup kicks off in February, with 27 teams in pursuit of lifting the trophy on 30 May and punching tickets to the FIFA Intercontinental Cup 2026™ and the Club World Cup 2029.
Five teams from Concacaf participated in the Club World Cup 2025 – Inter Miami, LAFC, Seattle Sounders, Monterrey and Pachuca – with the south Florida outfit and Rayados each advancing past the group stage and reaching the round of 16. Along the way, Inter Miami became the first MLS team to defeat a European side in a FIFA competition when they topped FC Porto, 2-1.
Part of that Inter Miami squad included Benjamin Cremaschi, who went on to star for USA at the U-20 World Cup in Chile, finishing as the adidas Golden Boot winner with five goals.
While the Mexico senior men enjoyed continental success, the Mexico U-17 women staged a brilliant campaign at the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco in reaching the semi-finals. While they suffered defeat in the final four to Netherlands, they bounced back with aplomb, edging Brazil in penalties in the match for third place to earn a spot on the podium.
Photos courtesy of Concacaf