The last country to guarantee a place was Iraq, who defeated Bolivia in the repechage tournament held at the Monterrey Stadium, in Mexico.
FIFA confirmed the definition of 48 teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The last country to guarantee a place was Iraqwho defeated Bolivia in the repechage tournament held at the Monterrey Stadium, in Mexico.
With the result, Iraq secured its presence in Group I, alongside France, Senegal and Norway, closing the list of participants in the first edition of the World Cup with 48 teams – the largest in history.
Rankings set after extensive global campaign
The definition of places ends a long knockout campaign that lasted 937 days and featured 899 matches played on all continents.
In all, 2,527 goals were scored, averaging 2.8 per game. The last of them was scored by striker Aymen Hussein, from Iraq, in the decisive game against Bolivia.
The final day of rankings featured decisive matches in different regions. In Europe, four teams secured a place in the playoffs: Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Türkiye and Sweden.
In the intercontinental playoff, held in Mexico, the Democratic Republic of Congo confirmed its presence by beating Jamaica 1-0 in Guadalajara, guaranteeing a place in Group K.
Tournament will have an unprecedented format
The 2026 edition will be the first with 48 teams, significantly increasing the number of participants compared to the previous model, which had 32 teams.
In total, 104 matches will be played in 16 host cities distributed among the three host countries.
The competition starts on June 11th and ends on July 19th.
According to FIFA, more than six million fans are expected to attend stadiums throughout the tournament, while the global audience could reach six billion people.
Table adjustments
With the definition of the classified teams, FIFA also updated the official game table. Among the changes, the match between Turkey and Paraguay, scheduled for June 19 in the San Francisco Bay area, will start one hour earlier, moving to 11pm (ET).
As a consequence, the game between Brazil and Haiti, which will be played in Philadelphia, has also been adjusted and will begin at 8:30 pm ET.
Ticket sales
FIFA also informed that a new phase of Ticket sales will open to the general public this Wednesday (1st)with a purchase system in order of access on the entity’s official website.
Biggest World Cup in history
The 2026 edition is treated by FIFA as the biggest everboth in number of selections and global reach.
With three host countries and an expanded format, the entity’s expectation is that the tournament will further consolidate football as the main sporting event on the planet.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
