2026 World Cup: Who has qualified and who can make it?
We are one year away from the 2026 World Cup and the battle for qualification is in full gear. And while the definitive list of the 48 teams that will participate in the largest edition of the tournament hasn't been set, we do know the teams that are currently in and which ones are closer to booking their spot. Let's dive in.
What we know:
Who is in (alphabetical order, history of World Cup appearances):
What's at stake this week:
Asia (AFC) — Australia became the sixth country in the region to book its World Cup spot as it will join other regional powerhouses in Iran, Japan, and South Korea. There are also two surprise sides in Jordan and Uzbekistan who will be making their first ever World Cup trips next year.
South America (CONMEBOL) — Brazil has joined Argentina as the two teams from the region that have qualified for the World Cup. Ecuador is on the verge of clinching as well. Other top teams like Colombia and Uruguay will have to wait until qualifying matches pick back up in the fall.
Europe (UEFA) — No teams will be able to clinch a spot during this window. Four notable squads – Spain, France, Germany, and Portugal — still haven't begun qualifying due to playing in the UEFA Nations League finals last week. Other heavyweights like England, Italy and the Netherlands have begun their World Cup qualifying campaigns.
North America/Central America/Caribbean (CONCACAF) — Aside from the three co-hosts, no one from this region has booked their spot yet. The second of three rounds of qualifying wraps up on Tuesday, but look for teams like Costa Rica, Honduras, and Jamaica to remain in the mix.
Africa (CAF) — Another region that won't see any qualified participants just yet, with these teams not playing in June. Egypt has a sizable lead in its qualifying group, as do other contenders like Morocco and Senegal.
Oceania (OFA) — This is done and dusted, with New Zealand already in and having this confederation's only direct spot. The tiny island of New Caledonia, officially a French overseas territory, still has a shot as a participant in the intercontinental playoff.
The intercontinental playoffs, explained:
Ahead of the World Cup, two spots will be clinched in the playoffs that will take place in March 2026. Six teams will participate, with Europe (UEFA) being excluded from this round:
The two teams with the highest FIFA rankings will get byes to the two separate finals. The other four teams will face each other to reach those finals. The two teams to emerge go to the World Cup.
Region-by-region breakdown:
AFC (Asia)How many World Cup teams can qualify? 8 automatically, 1 enters the playoffsWho is in?Australia, Iran, Jordan, Japan, South Korea, UzbekistanWhat's on tap:
The qualifying tournament in Asia actually started back in October 2023, and we have now concluded Round 3 of the qualifying process. Six teams have booked World Cup spots, with two more direct spots up (and one playoff berth) up for grabs when action picks back up in September.
In Group A, Iran has qualified along with tournament debut side Uzbekistan. Both the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will move onto Round 4 for another shot at qualifying. Kyrgyzstan and North Korea were eliminated. In Group B, South Korea is in and so is debut side Jordan. Iraq and Oman will move onto Round 4 for another shot at qualifying. Palestine and Kuwait
In Group C, Japan and Australia are in. Saudi Arabia and Indonesia will move onto Round 4 for another shot at qualifying. China and Bahrain move on.
Round 4 will consist of six teams (the third- and fourth-placed teams from Round 3), and split into two groups. Those group winners advance to the World Cup. The runners-up go to Round 5, with the winner then heading to the intercontinental playoff.
Here's how the groups after Round 3 finished out, with World Cup-qualified teams noted by an asterisk (*). Full standings can be found here.
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CAF (Africa)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?9 automatically, 1 enters the playoffsWho is in?None qualified yetWhat's on tap:
Nothing in June. Having last played in March, the 54 teams (now reduced to 52) return to action in September.
The nine group winners will advance directly to the World Cup, and the four best second-place teams will fight for an intercontinental playoff spot. At the halfway point of the qualification phase, there are plenty of top teams in control of their respective groups.
Teams like Egypt and South Africa are in control of their respective groups for the moment. Morocco, the 2022 World Cup surprise semifinals, are also in control in their group. The one wrinkle is Group E – which has been reduced to four teams after the disqualification of Congo and Eritrea – and how that could potentially affect whoever finishes in second place, since it may not have enough points to be considered for the intercontinental playoff phase.
Here are the top two teams from each group, as things stand. Full standings can be found here.
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CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?6 automatically (3 co-hosts, 3 through qualifying), 2 enter the playoffs
Who is in?Canada, Mexico, United States
What's on tap:
The three co-hosts are in, leaving three more automatic spots for the region. There are also two spots for the intercontinental playoff to be determined. Initially 32 teams began the process, with now 30 teams – six groups of five teams – in the second round of qualification. The top sides from the six groups advance to the third round.
In Group A, Honduras is looking to advance. Cuba and Bermuda are the main contenders battling for second place.
In Group B, two previous World Cup participants – Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago – are battling for the top two spots. Those two teams won't play each other until later this year though.
In Group C, Curaçao and Haiti will move onto the third round of qualifying.
In Group D, Nicaragua and Panama are also in control to move on, with Guyana having an outside shot. In Group E, Guatemala is the surprise side and will be joining Jamaica as the two teams that move on. In Group F, it feels like it's anyone's group to win. Suriname currently leads with El Salvador and Puerto Rico on its heels.
Here are the top two teams from each group, as things stand. Full standings can be found here.
Once the two teams from each group are settled, those 12 teams will be placed in three groups of four. Each team will play its opponents in round-robin home-and-away matches. The three group winners advance to the World Cup and the two best group runners-up move to the playoffs.
_____
CONMEBOL (South America)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?6 automatically, 1 enters the playoffsWho is in?Argentina, Brazil
What's on tap: It's shaping up to be a fairly cut-and-dry campaign in this 10-team region as both Argentina and Brazil are now into the World Cup. The simplest way for Ecuador to assure its place is to beat or draw Peru, after Venezuela lost to Uruguay on Tuesday. Colombia still needs more results to qualify after drawing with Argentina.
Bolivia and Peru still have a small window but Chile are officially eliminated. Here's how the current table stands. Full standings can be found here.
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OFC (Oceania)
How many World Cup teams have qualified?1 automatically, 1 enters the playoffsWho is in?New Zealand, New Caledonia (playoff team)What's on tap:The 11-team qualifying tournament from this region, consisting of countries and territories in the South Pacific, concluded in March. One team emerged from Round 1, joining the seven top-ranked teams of the region. Those eight teams were split into two groups for Round 2, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals. Semifinals, March 21New Caledonia 3, Tahiti 0New Zealand 7, Fiji 0Final, March 24New Zealand 3, New Caledonia 0
New Zealand will head to the World Cup, while New Caledonia will be one of the six teams in the intercontinental playoff. Full standings can be found here.
_____UEFA (Europe)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?16 (12 automatically, 4 through a UEFA-only playoff)Who is in?None qualified yetWhat's on tap:There are 54 (excluding Russia) teams who began the qualifying process in March. Some teams have already begun to play (England, Norway, Poland) while the teams who were ousted in the Nations League quarterfinals (including Croatia, Italy, the Netherlands) will only begin this week. The four Nations Leagues semifinalists – France, Germany, Spain, Portugal – won't enter the fold until September.
In all, there are 12 groups of either four or five teams each. The winner of each group will clinch World Cup spots.
The 12 runners-up move to a subsequent playoff round, added by the four best-ranked Nations League group winners that did not finish their World Cup qualifying group in first or second place. These 16 teams will then be bracketed to clinch the remaining four World Cup spots in March 2026.European teams cannot reach the World Cup via the intercontinental playoff.
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