The 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Qualifiers will determine the final four teams to qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Prior to the qualifiers, 12 of the 16 teams of the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup had already been decided based on the results of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League:
Another 12 teams will compete in the qualifiers. The matches were originally scheduled to be played in March and June 2020 but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The matches will now take place in July 2021, the week before the start of the Gold Cupgroup stage, in a centralized format in the United States.
Teams
The following 12 teams, based on the results of the 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League, will participate in the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup Qualifiers.
The qualifying draw took place on 11 December 2019, 19:00 EST, in Miami, Florida, United States. Three pots were prepared, with Pot A containing the League A teams, Pot B containing the League B teams and Pot C containing the League C teams. To draw the first round matches, teams from Pot C were first drawn and allocated, in order, to pairings 1 to 4. To complete the fixtures, teams from Pot B were then drawn and allocated, in order, to pairings 1 to 4. To draw the second round matches, the Pot A teams were drawn and allocated to face the winners of first round pairings 1 to 4. The draw results were as follows:
Schedule
The first round was originally to be played on 26 and 31 March 2020. The four winners of Nations League C would face the four runner-ups of Nations League B, played as two-legged ties. The teams from League B would host the second legs. The four winners would advance to the second round. The second round was originally to be played during the FIFA international window of 1–9 June 2020. The four first round winners would face the four third-placed teams of Nations League A, played as two-legged ties. The teams from League A would host the second legs. The four winners would qualify for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On 13 March 2020, CONCACAF suspended all upcoming competitions scheduled to take place over the next 30 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the new dates of the matches to be confirmed later. On 3 April 2020, CONCACAF announced the suspension of the June qualifiers, with the new dates of the matches to be confirmed later.
New format
On 27 July 2020, CONCACAF announced that the qualifiers will be played by the 12 teams as a centralized preliminary round in the United States, in the week prior to the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage. The format and schedule of this preliminary round will be confirmed by CONCACAF.
