Listed below are the dates and results for the tournament qualification. A total of 17 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Honduras withdrew before the matches were played. The remaining 16 teams were divided into 3 zones, based on geographical considerations, as follows:
- North American Zone had 3 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner and runner-up would advance to the Final Round.
- Central American Zone had 4 teams. The teams played against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winner and runner-up would advance to the Final Round.
- Caribbean Zone had 9 teams, which would be divided into 2 groups of 4 or 5 teams. The teams played in a knockout tournament, with matches on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.
CONCACAF North American Zone
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 | 1977 CONCACAF Championship | |
| 2= | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4[lower-alpha 1] | ||
| 2= | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4[lower-alpha 1] |
(O) Play-off winners
Notes:
| 24 September 1976 | Canada | 1–1 | | Vancouver, Canada |
| Bolitho |
Bandov |
Stadium: Empire Stadium Attendance: 15,453[1] Referee: Dorantes García (Mexico) |
| 3 October 1976 | United States | 0–0 | | Los Angeles, United States |
| Stadium: Memorial Coliseum Attendance: 33,171[2] Referee: Dante Maglio (Canada) |
| 10 October 1976 | Canada | 1–0 | | Vancouver, Canada |
| Parsons |
Stadium: Empire Stadium Attendance: 17,939[3] Referee: Toros Kibritjian (United States) |
| 15 October 1976 | Mexico | 3–0 | | Puebla, Mexico |
| Solís Álvarez Dávila |
Stadium: Cuauhtémoc Referee: Werner Winsemann (Canada) |
| 20 October 1976 | United States | 2–0 | | Seattle, United States |
| Rys Veee |
Stadium: Kingdome Attendance: 17,675[4] Referee: Rubio Vásquez (Mexico) |
| 27 October 1976 | Mexico | 0–0 | | Toluca, Mexico |
| Stadium: Nemesio Díez Referee: Landauer (United States) |
Canada and United States finished level on points and goal difference, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.
| 22 December 1976 | Canada | 3–0 | | Stade Sylvio Cator, Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Budd Lenarduzzi Bolitho |
Attendance: 5,000 (estimated)[5] Referee: Velasquez Ramírez (Colombia) |
Mexico and Canada advanced to the tournament.
CONCACAF Central American Zone
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 6 | +9 | 8 | 1977 CONCACAF Championship | |
| 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | +2 | 6 | ||
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 21 | −14 | 3 |
| 4 April 1976 | Panama | 3–2 | | Panama City, Panama |
| Tapia Ponce Sánchez |
Jiménez Barrantes |
Referee: Cedillos (Honduras) |
| 2 May 1976 | Panama | 1–1 | | Panama City, Panama |
| Vázquez |
Ramírez |
Referee: Rojas Luis (Costa Rica) |
| 11 July 1976 | Costa Rica | 3–0 | | San José, Costa Rica |
| Alvarado Jiménez |
Referee: Sazo Alvarez (Nicaragua) |
| 1 August 1976 | El Salvador | 4–1 | | San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Ramírez Aquino |
Hernández |
Referee: Rubio Vásquez (Mexico) |
| 17 September 1976 | Panama | 2–4 | | Panama City, Panama |
| Wellmann Montillo |
Pennant Sánchez Anderson |
Referee: Álvarez Morales (Costa Rica) |
| 26 September 1976 | Guatemala | 7–0 | | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Sánchez Pennant McDonald Sandoval |
Referee: Avendano Ruiz (El Salvador) |
| 1 December 1976 | El Salvador | 1–1 | | San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Cabrera |
Jiménez |
Referee: Méndez Molina (Guatemala) |
| 5 December 1976 | Costa Rica | 0–0 | | San José, Costa Rica |
| Referee: Archundia (Mexico) |
| 8 December 1976 | Guatemala | 3–1 | | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| McNish Monterroso Sánchez |
Valencia |
Referee: Luis Paulino Siles Calderón (Costa Rica) |
| 12 December 1976 | Guatemala | 1–1 | | Guatemala City, Guatemala |
| Sandoval |
Salgado |
Referee: Andino Pinel (Honduras) |
| 15 December 1976 | Costa Rica | 1–1 | | San José, Costa Rica |
| Figueroa |
Ramírez |
Referee: Mollinedo (Guatemala) |
| 19 December 1976 | El Salvador | 2–0 | | San Salvador, El Salvador |
| Cabrera Valencia |
Referee: Segura (Mexico) |
Guatemala and El Salvador advanced to the tournament.
CONCACAF Caribbean Zone
Brackets
| Preliminary Round | First Round | Second Round | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | n | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 3 | n | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 3* | ||||||||||||||||
| Group A | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 2* | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 0 | n | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 2 | n | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Group B | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 2* | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 0 | n | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | 7 | n | 9 | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 0 | n | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 3 | n | 6 | ||||||||||||||||
Group A
First round
| 4 July 1976 | Guyana | 2–0 | | Georgetown, Guyana |
| Butts Niles |
Referee: Gay (Trinidad and Tobago) |
| 29 August 1976 | Suriname | 3–0 (3–2 agg.) | | Paramaribo, Suriname |
| Playfaire George |
Referee: Wooding (Trinidad and Tobago) |
Suriname advanced to the Second Round.
| 15 August 1976 | Barbados | 2–1 | | Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Clarke |
David |
Referee: Steeman (Suriname) |
| 31 August 1976 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1–0 (2–2 agg.) | | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Douglas |
Referee: Koetsier (Netherlands Antilles) |
The aggregate score was tied 2–2, and a play-off was played to decide who would advance to the Second Round.
| 14 September 1976 | | 1–3 | Trinidad and Tobago | Bridgetown, Barbados |
| Clarke |
Llewellyn Carpette Clarke |
Referee: Calderón Castro (Cuba) |
Trinidad and Tobago advanced to the Second Round, via the play-off.
Second round
| 14 November 1976 | Suriname | 1–1 | | Paramaribo, Suriname |
| George |
David |
Referee: Chandler (Barbados) |
| 28 November 1976 | Trinidad and Tobago | 2–2 (3–3 agg.) | | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Figaro Llewellyn |
Olmberg Entingh |
Referee: Llobregat Vicedo (Venezuela) |
The aggregate score was tied 3–3, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the tournament.
| 18 December 1976 | Suriname | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | | Cayenne, French Guiana |
| George Olmberg |
David |
Referee: Llobregat Vicedo (Venezuela) |
Suriname advanced to the tournament, via the play-off.
Group B
Preliminary round
| 2 April 1976 | Dominican Republic | 0–3 | | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| Auguste Bayonne Baptiste |
Referee: Wuertz (United States) |
| 17 April 1976 | Haiti | 3–0 (6–0 agg.) | | Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Bayonne Domingue |
Referee: Villarejo Ramírez (Puerto Rico) |
Haiti advanced to the First Round.
First round
| 30 July 1976 | Netherlands Antilles | 1–2 | | Aruba, Netherlands Antilles |
| Ruiz |
Sanon |
Referee: Chaplin (Jamaica) |
| 14 August 1976 | Haiti | 7–0 (9–1 agg.) | | Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Domingue Sanon Labissiere Brevil Bayonne |
Referee: Montane Bosch (Puerto Rico) |
Haiti advanced to the Second Round.
| 15 August 1976 | Jamaica | 1–3 | | Kingston, Jamaica |
| Brown |
Rivero Lara Fariñas |
Referee: De la Puente (Dominican Republic) |
| 29 August 1976 | Cuba | 2–0 (5–1 agg.) | | Havana, Cuba |
| Fariñas Pérez |
Referee: Pastor (Dominican Republic) |
Cuba advanced to the Second Round.
Second round
| 11 December 1976 | Haiti | 1–1 (2–2 agg.) | | Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Sanon |
Roldán |
Referee: Montane Bosch (Puerto Rico) |
The aggregate score was tied 2–2, and a play-off on neutral ground was played to decide who would advance to the Final Round.
| 29 December 1976 | Haiti | 2–0 | | Panama City, Panama |
| Domingue Désir |
Referee: Dorantes Garcia (Mexico) |
Haiti advanced to the tournament, via the play-off.
Goalscorers
- 6 goals
- 5 goals
Óscar Enrique Sánchez
Luis Ramírez Zapata
Roy George
- 4 goals
Pierre Bayonne
Leintz Domingue
Steve David
- 3 goals
Victor Clarke
Javier Jiménez
Selvin Pennant
- 2 goals
Bob Bolitho
Johnny Alvarado Cascante
Francisco Fariñas
David Arnoldo Cabrera
Victor Manuel Mejia Valencia
Peter Sandoval
Remie Olmberg
Sammy Llewellyn
- 1 goal
Brian Budd
Bob Lenarduzzi
Buzz Parsons
Mario Barrantes
Javier Masís
William Fisher Salgado
Dagoberto Lara
Ramón Núñez
Agustín Pérez Castillo
Miguel Rivero
Andrés Roldán
Silvio Aquino
Julio César Anderson
Leonardo McNish
Felix McDonald
Benjamin Monterroso
Vibert Butts
Keith Niles
Arsène Auguste
Jean Marie Jean Baptiste
Carlo Brevil
Jean-Claude Désir
Louidor Labissiere
Carl Brown
Pedro Damián Álvarez
Hugo Dávila
Francisco Solís
Monico Eluterio Ruiz
Hector Nestor Hernández
Daniel Montillo Ruíz
Federico Ponce
Agustín Sánchez
Luis Ernesto Tapia
Virgílio Vázquez
Rinaldo Entingh
Henry Playfair
Leon Carpette
Anthony Douglas
Selris Figaro
Boris Bandov
Miro Rys
Juli Veee
- 1 own goal
Victor Clarke (playing against Trinidad and Tobago)
Allan Wellmann (playing against Panama)
References
- ↑ Stinson, Dan (25 September 1976). "Canadians forced to settle for tie". Vancouver Sun. p. 25. Retrieved 21 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Jones, Grahame L. (4 October 1976). "Goalie Saves the Day for U.S." Los Angeles Times. sec. 3, p. 1. Retrieved 21 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Cross, Jeff (12 October 1976). "Crowd gets quite a Buzz". The Province. p. 17. Retrieved 21 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Petterson, Joel (9 June 2013). "It's been a long, successful road back to Seattle for U.S. Soccer". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ↑ Stinson, Dan (23 December 1976). "Budd blooms on time for Canada". Vancouver Sun. p. 35. Retrieved 21 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.