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.