Summary
The 2026-2027 EFL Cup (ENGCUP2) or Carabao Cup is the 2nd most prestigious football club tournament in England. All 92 teams from ENG1, ENG2, ENG3 and ENG4 will participate. The Final will be held on 21 March 2027 at Wembley Stadium. The ENGCUP2 winner wins a berth in the Playoff Round of the 2025-2026 UEFA Europa League. Manchester City (ENG1) is the defending champion.
All rounds/matches before the Semifinals are "Knockout" matches. If a match is tied after regulation time, the matches go straight to a penalty shoot-out. For the Semifinals, the teams play Home/Away highest aggregate goals advances matches. If the aggregate score is tied after the 2nd leg, the teams go straight to a penalty shoot-out. For the Final, if the match is still tied after regulation time, two 15-minute extra time periods are played. If still tied after extra time, a penalty shoot-out is held.
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Leagues Pyramid - England
| Abbrev | League | # Teams |
|---|---|---|
| ENG1 | Barclay's Premier League | 20 |
| ENG2 | Championship | 24 |
| ENG3 | League One | 24 |
| ENG4 | League Two | 24 |
| ENG5 | Conference | 24 |
Competition Structure
| Stage | # Teams | New Teams Entering This Round | Teams From Previous Round | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Round | 4 | 4 ENG4 teams | None | 2 Knockout matches |
| 1st Round | 70 | 24 ENG2 teams, 24 ENG3 teams, 20 ENG4 teams | 2 winners from Preliminary Round | 35 Knockout matches |
| 2nd Round | 46 | 11 ENG1 teams "not" competing in the UEFACL, the UEFAEL, or the UEFAECL; 2 ENG2 teams | 35 winners from 1st Round | 23 Knockout matches |
| 3rd Round | 32 | 9 ENG1 teams competing in UEFACL, UEFAEL, and UEFAECL | 23 winners from 2nd Round | 16 Knockout matches |
| 4th Round | 16 | None | 16 winners from 3rd Round | 8 Knockout matches |
| Quarterfinals | 8 | None | 8 winners from 4th Round | 4 Knockout matches |
| Semifinals | 4 | None | 4 winners from 5th Round | 2 sets of Home/Away matches, highest aggregate goals advances |
| Final | 2 | None | 2 winners from Semifinals | 1 Knockout match played at a neutral site |
Preliminary Round
| Date | Home | Status | Road | Venue | ||||
 | Rochdale AFC (ENG5) | Prenton Park |
 | Crawley Town FC (ENG3) | LNER Community Stadium |