Ten more teams secured qualification for the World Cup in the most recent period of international football commitments, which began last week and ended on Tuesday (14). As the Qualifiers progress, there are 28 confirmed teams — out of a total of 48 in the expanded version of the tournament, which in 2026 will have 16 more participants than in the previous edition, in 2022, in Qatar.
The nine direct vacancies for the African teams and the eight for the Asian teams were completely filled. South America and Oceania already knew the representatives classified directly.
From the group of qualified teams, three will compete in the World Cup for the first time — Cape Verde, Uzbekistan and Jordan —, the highest number of debuts since 2006, when six teams debuted in the World Cup.
There are still another 58 teams competing for the remaining 20 places (15 from Europe, three from North, Central America and the Caribbean and two from the international playoffs).
From the African continent, Senegal, Ghana, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Cape Verde secured a place in the World Cup in the October games. Cape Verde became the smallest country in terms of territory to qualify for the competition. South Africa returns for the first time since 2010, when it hosted.
These teams joined Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, who had secured places in the previous rounds of the African qualifiers.
Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo and Gabon will still face each other for a place in the world repechage.
Scheduled for March 2026, in the last period of international games — known as FIFA Data — before the World Cup, the playoff will give two places in the World Cup and will have six teams in the running: two from Concacaf (Confederation of Football Associations of North, Central America and the Caribbean), one from South America (Bolivia), one from Oceania (New Caledonia), one from Africa and one from Asia.
The six teams will be divided into two groups, based on the FIFA (International Football Federation) ranking, with two finals. Each of the two best-positioned teams will already be in a decision. The others will have to play in a semi-final to reach the game that counts for a spot in the World Cup. All clashes will be in a single game.
In Asia, Qatar secured its place for the first time through qualifying, after debuting in the World Cup in 2022 as host. Saudi Arabia also recently got its place, going to the third consecutive World Cup.
From the Asian continent, Japan – the first country to qualify through the Qualifiers –, South Korea, Iran and Australia were already guaranteed, as well as newcomers Uzbekistan and Jordan.
Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will face each other in November for a place in the repechage. The two teams are trying to reach their second World Cup, having previously competed in 1986 and 1990, respectively.
In Europe, England was the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, with a 5-0 away victory over Latvia, on Tuesday (14).
Portugal came close to confirming its place, but conceded Hungary’s equalizer in stoppage time and saw qualification postponed. Cristiano Ronaldo’s team — the biggest scorer in the history of the Qualifiers, with 41 goals — has a five-point advantage over the Hungarians, with just six more to play for.
The Netherlands, Croatia, Spain and France also have vacancies well underway.
On the Old Continent, 12 teams qualify directly. Another 16 will play a European playoff in a knockout format, with two rounds. The four survivors will complete the list of 16 European representatives at the World Cup.
Ended in September, the South American Qualifiers have already defined the six direct qualifiers for the World Cup: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay. Bolivia will compete in the world playoff.
From Concacaf, three of the six vacancies were filled by the host countries: the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Jamaica, Honduras and Suriname lead their respective groups, with two rounds remaining in the Qualifiers. Suriname can also qualify for the World Cup for the first time. The two best runners-up will go to the world repechage – today, the places would go to Curaçao and Costa Rica.
For Oceania, New Zealand secured the only direct spot, sending New Caledonia to the play-offs.
The World Cup will take place from June 11th to July 19th. The opening will be held at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, with the final scheduled for the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.
The group stage draw is scheduled for December 5th in Washington.
In the expanded version, the Cup will have 104 matches, with teams divided into 12 groups with four teams each. The top two in each group advance, with the 32 teams now facing each other in knockout matches.
The United States will host 78 games, spread across 11 cities. Canada, in two cities, and Mexico, in three, will host 13 matches each.
Check out the teams classified for the 2026 World Cup
Asia (8)
Australia
South Korea
Iran
Japan
Jordan
Uzbekistan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
South America (6)
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Uruguay
Europa (1)
England
North America (3)
Canada (headquarters)
United States (headquarters)
Mexico (headquarters)
Africa (9)
Algeria
Egypt
Morocco
Tunisia
Gana
Cape Verde
South Africa
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Oceania (1)
New Zealand
