Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup began on Oct. 12, 2023, when countries from the Asian confederation played their first round of matches, and Myanmar’s Lwin Moe Aung scored the very first goal in a 5-1 win over Macau.
Now, with the final spots set to be awarded in the UEFA and intercontinental playoffs, we will soon have the full list of 45 nations that will join World Cup hosts United States, Mexico and Canada to make up the field of 48.
Japan was the first country to qualify in March 2025, but who will be the last?
Qualified teams (39/45)
– Europe (12 of 16 qualifiers): England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Scotland, Spain, Austria, Belgium
UEFA playoffs:
Semifinals on March 26, finals on March 31
PATH A
1. Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
2. Wales 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina win 4-2 on penalties)
Final: Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
PATH B
3. Ukraine 1-3 Sweden
4. Poland 2-1 Albania
Final: Sweden vs. Poland
PATH C
5. Türkiye 1-0 Romania
6. Slovakia 3-4 Kosovo
Final: Türkiye vs. Kosovo
PATH D
7. Denmark 4-0 North Macedonia
8. Czechia 2-2 Republic of Ireland (Czechia win 4-3 on penalties)
Final: Denmark vs. Czechia
– North America, Central America and Caribbean (3/3): Panama, Curaçao, Haiti
– Africa (9/9): Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
– Asia (8/8): Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
– South America (6/6): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
– Oceania (1/1): New Zealand
– Interconfederation playoff winners (0/2):
Semifinals on March 26, finals on March 31
Semifinal: New Caledonia 0-1 Jamaica
Final: Jamaica vs. DR Congo
Semifinal: Bolivia 2-1 Suriname
Final: Bolivia vs. Iraq
What is yet to be decided?
– Europe: Eight teams — including Italy, Denmark and Sweden — remain in the running for the four spots available in the UEFA playoffs. They will play the final of their play-off paths on March 31, where the winner will be granted a place at the World Cup and placed into the predetermined group for their pathway (as determined by the World Cup draw in December.
– Intercontinental playoffs: Bolivia and Jamaica won their play-off semifinal ties, meaning they advance to their respective finals, where a win would send them to the World Cup. Those games, which sees Jamaica face DR Congo and Bolivia take on Iraq, will take place on March 31.
Interconfederation playoffs (2 places)
This month’s playoffs will determine the final two qualifiers.
Six countries will take part. Each of the five confederations (apart from UEFA) will provide one country, while the host confederation (Concacaf) receives a second slot.
1 – Africa (DR Congo)
1 – Asia (Iraq)
2 – Concacaf (Jamaica and Suriname)
1 – Oceania (New Caledonia)
1 – South America (Bolivia)
The two nations with the best FIFA World Ranking — DR Congo and Iraq — were seeded and will go straight into one of the two finals. The four other countries were drawn to play a semifinal, feeding through to play a seed for one of the two places at the World Cup.
New Caledonia vs. Jamaica – Winner vs. DR Congo
Bolivia vs. Suriname – Winner vs. Iraq
The playoffs will be held in Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico, with each city hosting two games.
Number of World Cup spots: 12 automatic + 4 via confederation playoff
Who has qualified? England, France, Croatia, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Scotland, Spain, Austria, Belgium
There are 55 European nations, although 54 competed as Russia remain suspended due to the invasion of Ukraine.
There were 12 groups of four or five teams, playing home and away matches. The group-stage qualifying process ended with a doubleheader in November.
The 12 group winners qualified directly for the World Cup, with the 12 runners-up entering the playoff system.
Qualifying began in March 2025 when most of the European teams who were not in UEFA Nations League (UNL) action played their first matches.
What will be decided in March?
The final four European places at the World Cup will be determined via the UEFA playoffs. There is no path to the World Cup for European teams through FIFA’s interconfederation playoffs.
The UEFA playoffs involve 16 teams: the 12 group stage runners-up, plus the four best-ranked group winners from the UNL who did not finish in the top two in World Cup qualifying. The teams were divided into four pots according to FIFA ranking, with the UNL group winners assigned to Pot 4, and drawn into four routes, each with four teams featuring a one-legged semifinal and a final for a place at the World Cup.
Teams (FIFA ranking):
Italy (9)
Denmark (20)
Türkiye (26)
Ukraine (27)
Poland (33)
Wales (34)
Czechia (44)
Slovakia (46)
Albania (61)
Republic of Ireland (62)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (75)
Kosovo (84)
Romania (47, UNL team)
Sweden (40, UNL team)
North Macedonia (65, UNL team)
Northern Ireland (69, UNL team)
– Check out the latest fixtures and results here | Tables
Seeding:
– Pot 1: Four World Cup qualifying group runners-up with the best FIFA World Ranking
– Pot 2: As above, teams fifth to eighth in the FIFA World Ranking list order
– Pot 3: As above, teams ninth to 12th in the FIFA World Ranking list order
– Pot 4: UEFA Nations League teams
UEFA playoffs:
Semifinals on March 26, finals on March 31
PATH A
1. Italy 2-0 Northern Ireland
2. Wales 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina win 4-2 on penalties)
Final: Italy vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
PATH B
3. Ukraine 1-3 Sweden
4. Poland 2-1 Albania
Final: Sweden vs. Poland
PATH C
5. Türkiye 1-0 Romania
6. Slovakia 3-4 Kosovo
Final: Türkiye vs. Kosovo
PATH D
7. Denmark 4-0 North Macedonia
8. Czechia 2-2 Republic of Ireland (Czechia win 4-3 on penalties)
Final: Denmark vs. Czechia
Number of World Cup spots: 3 automatic + 2 enter interconfederation playoff
Who has qualified? Panama, Curaçao, Haiti
Usually, Concacaf would have six automatic places in qualifying — but for the 2026 World Cup, three of the six are taken up by the hosts (United States, Mexico, Canada). That leaves three places to be won, plus two spots in the interconfederation playoff path.
Concacaf saw 32 nations enter the race to make the World Cup.
ROUND 1: The four lowest-ranked Concacaf nations battled it out in two-legged ties. Anguilla and British Virgin Islands eliminated Turks and Caicos Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively, on penalties.
ROUND 2: The top 28-ranked nations, plus the two winners from Round 1, were drawn into six groups of five teams. Teams played each other only once, rather than home and away. This stage was played in two blocks, in June 2024 and June 2025.
The six group winners and six group runners-up moved on to Round 3.
Advanced: Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curaçao, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
ROUND 3: The 12 remaining teams were drawn into three groups of four teams. Matches were held from September to November. The group winners qualified for the World Cup, and the two runners-up with the best record went on to take part in the interconfederation playoffs.
Qualified: Panama, Curaçao, Haiti
Advanced to interconfederation playoffs: Jamaica, Suriname
– Check out the fixtures and results | Latest tables
Number of World Cup spots: 9 automatic + 1 enters interconfederation playoff
Who has qualified? Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
There were 54 FIFA-affiliated nations in the draw. However, Eritrea subsequently withdrew over fears its players would try to seek political asylum during trips abroad.
Round 1: The teams were in eight groups of six nations, and one group of five (with Eritrea removed).
The nine group winners qualified for the World Cup, while the four best second-place teams moved on to Round 2.
The stage began in November 2023 and was completed in October 2025.
– Check out the latest fixtures and results here | Latest tables
Round 2: The four best runners-up competed in the CAF playoffs (two semifinals and a final) in November. DR Congo emerged victorious and advanced to the interconfederation playoffs
Semifinals, Nov. 13:
Nigeria 4-1 Gabon
Cameroon 0-1 DR Congo
Final, Nov. 16:
Nigeria 1-1 DR Congo (DR Congo prevails 4-3 on penalty kicks)
Number of World Cup spots: 8 automatic + 1 enters interconfederation playoff
Who has qualified? Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea
This is by some distance the most complicated route to the World Cup, with a layered qualifying process featuring a dual group stage to find the eight automatic qualifiers. But all of them have now been determined.
Round 1: The 20 lowest-ranked nations played two-legged ties in October 2023: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore and Yemen advanced.
Round 2: Those 10 winners joined the 26 best-ranked nations. The 36 teams were drawn into nine groups of four teams, with the top two nations going through to Round 3. This stage began in November 2023 and was completed in June 2024.
– Final tables
Advanced: Australia, Bahrain, China, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyz Republic, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan
Round 3: We were left with 18 nations, drawn into three groups of six teams. Matches began in September 2024.
The group winners and runners-up took the first six places at the 2026 World Cup and their campaign is complete.
Japan became the first team to qualify for the World Cup on March 20, followed by Iran, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Australia.
– Check out the results | Final tables
Round 4: The six teams in this stage were drawn into two groups of three. They played each other once, so two matches in total per team, in one host country in October. The winners of the groups qualified for the World Cup: Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The runners-up, UAE and Iraq, advanced to Round 5.
Round 5: Iraq kept their World Cup dreams alive in November by defeating UAE in a two-legged tie. After a 1-1 draw in the first match, Iraq scored a game-winning penalty 17 minutes into second-half stoppage time, earning a place in the interconfederation playoffs.
Number of World Cup spots: 6 automatic + 1 enters interconfederation playoff
Who has qualified? Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
As in recent qualifying competitions, all 10 nations played each other home and away. The top six nations qualified directly to the finals. The seventh-placed team goes into the interconfederation playoffs in March.
The first qualifiers took place in September 2023, with the league phase completed in September 2025.
Bolivia are in the interconfederation playoffs.
– Check out the results | Final table
1:34
Laurens: Italy face tougher test against Bosnia and Herzegovina
Julien Laurens breaks down Bosnia and Herzegovina’s dramatic penalty win over Wales ahead of their World Cup showdown with Italy.
Number of World Cup spots: 1 automatic + 1 enters interconfederation playoff
Who has qualified? New Zealand
All 11 members of the OFC region took part.
Round 1: The four lowest-ranked nations played a knockout format (two semis and a final) in Samoa in September 2024.
American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga were in this round. Samoa beat Tonga 2-1 in the final to advance.
Round 2: Samoa and the seven top-ranked nations were drawn into two groups of four nations, with matches played in October and November 2024. Games were held in Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.
The top two countries in each group — New Caledonia, Tahiti, New Zealand and Fiji — went on to Round 3.
– Check out the results here | Final tables
Round 3: The four remaining countries then played a one-legged knockout format (two semis and a final) in New Zealand in March 2025.
Semifinals, March 21
New Caledonia 3-0 Tahiti
New Zealand 7-0 Fiji
Final, March 24
New Caledonia 0-3 New Zealand
As winners of the final, New Zealand qualified for the World Cup, with losers New Caledonia moving onto the interconfederation playoffs.
