Format
The First and Second Rounds reduced the 34 entrants to 24 and 12 teams, respectively. The remaining 12 teams were then placed into three Third Round groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Fourth and final qualification group. The Third Round began in August 2004 and ended in November 2004. The top 3 teams from the Fourth Round group of 6 (held from February 2005 to October 2005) qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The 4th-placed team competed in a home-and-away playoff against the 5th-placed team from Asia.
Read more about this topic: 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualification (CONCACAF)