1981 CONCACAF Championship qualification

A total of 15 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. The 15 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 5 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 7 teams, which would be divided into 2 groups - Group A had 4 teams and Group B had 3 teams. 2 teams in Group A played in the Preliminary Round, against each other on a home-and-away basis, with the winner advancing to Group A proper. The 3 teams in each group would then play against each other on a home-and-away basis. The group winners would advance to the Final Round.

North American Zone

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Canada	5	4	1	3	0	4	3	+1
2	Mexico	4	4	1	2	1	8	5	+3
3	United States	3	4	1	1	2	4	8	−4

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Canada and Mexico advanced to the finals.

Central American Zone

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Honduras	12	8	5	2	1	15	5	+10
2	El Salvador	12	8	5	2	1	12	5	+7
3	Guatemala	9	8	3	3	2	10	2	+8
4	Costa Rica	6	8	1	4	3	6	10	−4
5	Panama	1	8	0	1	7	3	24	−21

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Honduras and El Salvador advanced to the finals..

Caribbean Zone

Group A Preliminary Round

Guyana advanced to Group A.

Group A

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Cuba	7	4	3	1	0	7	0	+7
2	Suriname	5	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2
3	Guyana	0	4	0	0	4	0	9	−9

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Cuba advanced to the finals.

Group B

Rank	Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
1	Haiti	5	4	2	1	1	4	2	+2
2	Trinidad and Tobago	4	4	1	2	1	1	2	−1
3	Netherlands Antilles	3	4	0	3	1	1	2	−1

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Haiti advanced to the finals.