The 2026 FIFA World Cup is poised to be the biggest in the tournament’s history, with 48 teams set to battle it out for the ultimate honour of being crowned world champions. This is the first time with the extended format, and it is also the first time the tournament has been held in three host nations.
Read: Solskjaer is reported in talks with the club that desperately needs the Norwegian coach in tough city derbies
Number of teams from each confederation in the World Cup:
- AFC (Asia): There are eight direct spots, and then one team will participate in the intercontinental playoff matches.
- CAF (Africa): There are nine direct places, and then one team will participate in the intercontinental playoff matches.
- CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean): There are three direct spots, and then two teams will participate in the intercontinental play-offs (this excludes the host nations USA, Canada and Mexico, all of whom were automatically qualified as co-hosts).
- CONMEBOL (South America): There are six direct places, and then one team will participate in the intercontinental playoff matches.
- OFC (Oceania): There is one direct place, and then one team will participate in the intercontinental playoff matches.
- UEFA (Europe): There are sixteen direct places.
Six teams from the above regions will qualify for the intercontinental playoffs in March. Only two of them will advance to the World Cup.
CONCACAF
As joint hosts, the United States, Canada and Mexico secured automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The United States will host for the first time since 1994. The United States’ weaknesses were exposed during the team’s performance in the CONCACAF Nations League, where they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Panama. They then lost the bronze final to rival Canada, the team led by the American Jesse Marsch. His form since then has been fluctuating, but a 2-0 win over Japan has given some reason for optimism.
Under the aforementioned Marsch, Canada’s performance in the CONCACAF Nations League, where they finished third, has pointed to a much brighter future than what seemed just 12 months ago. With several top talents performing at the highest level of European football, such as Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich and Jonathan David at Lille, Canada could have the opportunity to make the best of the three host nations at the 2026 World Cup.
The winners of the CONCACAF Nations League, thanks to a 2-1 win over surprise finalists Panama, Mexico have a rich history in the World Cup context that should stand them in good stead when they reach the group stage of the tournament in 2026. Led by experienced manager Javier Aguirre, in his third spell as Mexico’s manager in his long career, the team has experienced players who play all over the world, including Fulham striker Raul Jimenez and Milan striker Santiago Gimenez.
Each CONCACAF team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
- Country: USA – Confederation: CONCACAF
- Country: Canada – Confederation: CONCACAF
- Country: Mexico – Confederation: CONCACAF
Asia
The first team to qualify for the World Cup through actual qualification was Japan, who secured their place by beating Bahrain 2-0 to secure a top-two spot in their qualifying group in the AFC. Led by manager Hajime Moriyasu since 2018, Japan will make its eighth consecutive World Cup. Players such as Daichi Kamada, Takefuso Kubo, Wataru Endo, Kaoru Mitoma and Celtic duo Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda are among the talents now playing in European football.
Iran has also qualified, but their participation has already made headlines. The nation’s delegation, including national team coach Amir Ghalenoei, who was sent to participate in the draw for the 2026 World Cup in December, was denied entry to the United States. It is still unclear how this will affect their participation next summer.
South Korea put in an outstanding effort by finishing second in a group with Uruguay, Portugal and Ghana at the 2022 World Cup, before losing to Brazil in the last eight. They will have another chance to impress in the summer of 2026, as they have now qualified for the tournament.
The expansion of the tournament has opened up the opportunity for smaller football nations to qualify, and both Uzbekistan and Jordan have done well to seize the opportunity, as they are now taking part in their first-ever World Cup.
Qatar will also participate in the World Cup twice in a row. After hosting in 2022, they are now hoping for more success on the pitch in the first tournament they have qualified for via regular qualification. They are accompanied by Saudi Arabia, who famously beat Argentina at the last World Cup.
Each Asian team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
- Country: Japan – Confederation: AFC
- Country: Iran – Confederation: AFC
- Country: Uzbekistan – Confederation: AFC
- Country: South Korea – Confederation: AFC
- Country: Jordan – Confederation: AFC
- Country: Australia – Confederation: AFC
- Country: Qatar – Confederation: AFC
- Country: Saudi Arabia – Confederation: AFC
CONMEBOL
The reigning world champions, Argentina, secured the chance to defend their crown thanks to a crushing 4-1 victory over arch-rivals Brazil in Buenos Aires. The 2026 World Cup is likely to be Messi’s last dance at the tournament, and he will desperately hope to further cement his legacy in football by getting his hands on the Jules Rimet trophy again.
Of course, the aforementioned Brazil have also qualified, but they did not do so in a particularly impressive way. They actually secured their place despite finishing fifth in qualifying. The nation’s hopes will still remain characteristically high, especially with Carlo Ancelotti now taking charge.
There will be a strong South American representation at the tournament in 2026, with teams such as Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay having also qualified so far. Among them, Ecuador could be the team to look up to, after finishing second in qualifying, only behind Argentina.
Each CONMEBOL team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
- Country: Argentina – Confederation: CONMEBOL
- Country: Brazil – Confederation: CONMEBOL
- Country: Ecuador – Confederation: CONMEBOL
- Country: Uruguay – Confederation: CONMEBOL
- Country: Colombia – Confederation: CONMEBOL
- Country: Paraguay – Confederation: CONMEBOL
Oceania
After Japan became the first country outside the host nations to qualify for the World Cup, New Zealand quickly followed suit just a few days later by securing their place in the tournament. A 3-0 victory over New Caledonia in the final of the OFC World Cup qualifiers marked the first time that a team from the Oceania Confederation has achieved direct qualification for the World Cup.
New Zealand’s participation in the tournament will be their first since 2010, and has a lot to do with the revised format. When they won Oceania’s qualifying round for the 2022 edition, it only secured them a spot in the intercontinental playoffs against the fourth-placed team in CONCACAF’s qualifiers, which turned out to be Costa Rica, a match they ultimately lost.
Each oceanic team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
- Country: New Zealand – Confederation: OFC
Africa
Morocco was one of the breakthrough teams at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, becoming both the first African and Arab nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, beating the likes of Spain, Belgium and Portugal before eventually losing to France just one step away from the final. They hope to impress next time, now that they have qualified.
They will be accompanied by Egypt, who did not qualify in 2022 but participated in the 2018 World Cup in Russia. With 2 draws and 5 losses, they have never won a game in the World Cup playoffs. With Mohamed Salah in the ranks, it would be foolish to dismiss their chances of finally getting a first win.
Tunisia, Algeria, Ghana and Cape Verde will all participate in the 2026 World Cup. Both Tunisia and Ghana failed to make it out of the group stage in 2022, while Algeria have been absent since 2014 but will now play in their fifth tournament. It is a special story for Cape Verde, which will participate in its first tournament. This is a remarkable achievement, as they have a population of only 525,000 people, making them the second least populated country to ever qualify.
South Africa are also back in the World Cup for the first time since hosting the tournament in 2010. They were actually deducted 3 points for fielding Teboho Mokoena against Lesotho while he was suspended, but that didn’t hold them back. A 3-0 win against Rwanda meant they topped Group C.
Senegal secured their place in the most convincing way, beating Mauritania 4-0 while Sadio Mane scored two goals.
Ivory Coast also secured their place comfortably, as they won 3-0 over Kenya and topped their group.
Each African team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
- Country: Morocco – Confederation: CAF
- Country: Tunisia – Confederation: CAF
- Country: Egypt – Confederation: CAF
- Country: Algeria – Confederation: CAF
- Country: Ghana – Confederation: CAF
- Country: Cape Verde – Confederation: CAF
- Country: South Africa – Confederation: CAF
- Country: Ivory Coast – Confederation: CAF
- Country: Senegal – Confederation: CAF
Europe
After finishing second in the last two Euros tournaments, and losing to France in the quarter-finals in 2022, England will be hoping this is finally their year. With Thomas Tuchel at the helm instead of Gareth Southgate, the early signs have been good, and qualification has been a smooth process. Still, anything short of a repeat of the success of 1966 would be considered a failure for this talented squad.
The likes of France, Portugal, Norway and Switzerland are all close to qualifying, but so far England are the only European team that is officially ready.
Each European team qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup:
- Country: England – Confederation: UEFA
Read on The Sport: Manchester United plummets down the top 10 list of the world’s most valuable football clubs
