<P> With the admission of Gibraltar and Kosovo as FIFA members in May 2016, both national teams made their debuts in World Cup qualifying . With two groups of only five teams in the first round, Kosovo was assigned to group I as it was decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia should not play against Kosovo for security reasons, and Gibraltar was then added to group H . </P> <P> The 2018 CONCACAF qualification process changed significantly from the 2014 qualification cycle . The first three rounds had teams play home - and - away over two legs . A first preliminary round involved the 14 lowest ranked teams and the seven winners advanced to the second round . The 13 higher ranked sides received byes in the second round and were joined by the seven first round winners; the ten winners advanced to the third round . Two higher ranked teams received byes in the third round and were joined by ten second round winners; the six winners advanced to the preliminary group stage . </P> <P> As in 2014, the remaining 12 teams played in 3 semifinal groups of 4 teams with the top two in each group advancing to a final six - team group . </P> <P> The final round--often referred to as the "hexagonal" because there are six teams involved--saw the top three teams advance to the World Cup finals, while the fourth placed side entered an inter-confederation play - off for a final World Cup spot . </P>

Who gets to play in the world cup