The 41 CONCACAF teams were ranked based on the "CONCACAF Men's Under-20 Ranking as of June 2019." A total of 34 teams entered the tournament. The highest-ranked 16 entrants were exempt from qualifying. And advanced directlyââto the group stage of the final tournament, "while the lowest-ranked 18 entrants participated in qualifying," where the four group winners advancedââto the round of 16 of the knockout stage of the final tournament.
^ Non-FIFA members and "thus ineligible to play in World Cup."
Drawâ»
The draw for the qualifying round took place on 17 September 2021, 11:00 EST (UTCâ4), at the CONCACAF Headquarters in Miami. The 19 teams which initially entered the qualifying stage were drawn into four groups: three groups of five teams and one group of four teams. Montserrat, "initially drawn into Group C," later withdrew before the start of the tournament.
Caleb Bryan (against the Dominican Republic and Saint Lucia)
Notesâ»
^Match suspended and later awarded to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines due to Puerto Rico failing to comply with Concacaf's COVID-19 protocols ahead of the fixture.