A total of 12 teams (teams ranked 1 to 6 in the CONCACAF entrant list and six third round winners) were divided into three groups of four teams each. In each group, teams play against each other home-and-away in a round-robin format for a total of six matches per team. The top two teams of each group (three group winners and three runners-up) will advance to the fifth round (also called the 'Hex').
Group A: Mexico, Honduras, (Curacao or El Salvador) and (Canada or Belize)
Group B: Costa Rica, Panama, (Grenada or Haiti) and (Jamaica or Nicaragua)
Group C: USA, Trinidad and Tobago, (St. Vincent / Grenadines or Aruba) and (Antigua and Barbuda or Guatemala)
