Cliff Notes – 2026 World Cup: Who has qualified and how the rest can make it
- Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup commenced on October 12, 2023, with Myanmar’s Lwin Moe Aung scoring the first goal in a match that ended 5-1 against Macau.
- As of now, 39 out of 45 spots have been filled, with notable qualifiers including England, France, and Japan, while the UEFA playoffs will determine the final European teams in March 2026.
- The interconfederation playoffs will feature teams from Africa, Asia, Concacaf, Oceania, and South America, with matches scheduled for March 2026 to secure the last two World Cup spots.
2026 World Cup: Who has qualified, and how the rest can make it
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, all confederations’ competitions are drawing to a close, but we’re still a long way from discovering 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 on March 20, but who else are we waiting for?
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 vs. Northern Ireland
2. Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Final: Winner semifinal 1 vs. Winner semifinal 2
PATH B
3. Ukraine vs. Sweden
4. Poland vs. Albania
Final: Winner semifinal 3 vs. Winner semifinal 4
PATH C
5. Turkey vs. Romania
6. Slovakia vs. Kosovo
Final: Winner semifinal 5 vs. Winner semifinal 6
PATH D
7. Denmark vs. North Macedonia
8. Czechia vs. Republic of Ireland
Final: Winner semifinal 7 vs. Winner semifinal 8
– 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):
Games between March 23 and 31
Semifinal: New Caledonia vs. Jamaica:
Final: Winner vs. DR Congo
Semifinal: Bolivia vs. Suriname
Final: Winner vs. Iraq
What was decided in November?
– Europe and Concacaf: The final rounds of the group stage were completed, as 14 teams qualified for the World Cup. The UEFA playoff field and the two Concacaf nations that will enter the six-team interconfederation playoff in March 2026 (there are two teams from Concacaf and one team apiece from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC) were also determined.
– Africa: The CAF’s interconfederation playoff spot was decided by a winner-take-all mini tournament, with DR Congo emerging victorious over Nigeria, Gabon and Cameroon.
– Asia: Iraq claimed a dramatic victory over UAE in the second leg of their tie, winning 3-2 on aggregate and earning an interconfederation playoff spot.
– South America and Oceania: Qualification complete.
Italy once again find themselves needing to win in a playoff to qualify for the World Cup. Image Photo Agency/Getty Images
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.
World Cup groups – UEFAGroup AGermanySlovakiaN IrelandLuxembourg-Group BSwitzerlandKosovoSloveniaSweden-Group CDenmarkScotlandGreeceBelarus-Group DFranceUkraineIcelandAzerbaijan-Group ESpainTurkeyGeorgiaBulgaria-Group FPortugalRep of IrelandHungaryArmenia-Group GNetherlandsPolandFinlandMaltaLithuaniaGroup HAustriaBosniaRomaniaCyprusSan MarinoGroup INorwayItalyIsraelEstoniaMoldovaGroup JBelgiumN MacedoniaWalesKazakhstanLiechtensteinGroup KEnglandAlbaniaSerbiaLatviaAndorraGroup LCroatiaCzechiaFaroesMontenegroGibraltar
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 was decided in November?
We have learned the identities of all the automatic qualifiers, along with the teams that will be competing in the playoffs for the last four spots available to European nations.
GROUP A: Germany needed a win or a draw vs. Slovakia to seal first place in the group and qualify for the World Cup on the final day, and they took care of business in convincing fashion, winning 6-0.
Slovakia now turn their attention to the UEFA playoffs. They will be joined there by third-place finishers Northern Ireland (9, plus-1), who progress as one of the four best-ranked Nations League group winners that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group.
GROUP B: Switzerland officially booked their place with a 1-1 draw over Kosovo, sending the Kosavars to the UEFA playoffs. Fourth-placed Sweden will get a playoff route through the Nations League.
GROUP C: In a roller-coaster match that featured a red card and a Scott McTominay bicycle-kick goal, Scotland snatched a victory against Denmark on the final day to qualify for their first World Cup in nearly three decades. Steve Clarke’s men knew entering the match that nothing less than a win would send them through, and Kieran Tierney scored the stoppage-time goal that sealed qualification. Denmark must now win in the playoffs if they want to reach the World Cup.
Scotland are heading to the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images
GROUP D: Ukraine comfortably cruised past Iceland 2-0 to secure a playoff spot for the World Cup on Nov. 16. Ukraine are trying to qualify for their second World Cup, having last appeared in 2006. France had already qualified as group winners.
GROUP E: Spain qualified with a 2-2 draw against Turkey, who are heading to the playoffs.
GROUP F: Portugal qualified as group winners, but the real thrills came in the battle for second place, in which Ireland came from 2-1 down to beat Hungary 3-2 and seal a UEFA playoff spot thanks to Troy Parrott’s hat trick.
GROUP G: Netherlands officially locked up qualification with a 4-0 win over Lithuania. That confirmed Poland would finish in second place and enter the playoffs, regardless of their win vs. Malta.
GROUP H: Austria qualified with a final-day draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina, thanks to a 77th-minute goal from Michael Gregoritsch. Bosnia will compete in the playoffs, along with third-place finishers Romania, who advance as a UEFA Nations League group winner.
Austria’s draw vs. Bosnia in November sealed their World Cup place. Christian Hofer/Getty Images
GROUP I: Norway qualified for their first World Cup since 1998 when Erling Haaland scored twice in two minutes to propel Norway to a 4-1 victory over Italy on Nov. 16.
Italy, meanwhile, now go into the March playoffs — where they have fallen short in qualifying for the previous two World Cups.
GROUP J: Belgium qualified as group winners, while Wales sealed second place. Wales and North Macedonia will both have a playoff route, but Wales’ victory gives them better seeding, along with a home semifinal.
GROUP K: England dominated the group, qualifying with a 100% record and not conceding a goal. Albania sealed second place in the group and a spot in the UEFA playoffs.
GROUP L: Croatia qualified as group winners, and Czechia earned a second place and a spot in the playoffs.
Croatia will be competing at the World Cup once more after qualifying on Friday. Jure Makovec/Getty Images
– Check out the latest fixtures and results here | Tables
PLAYOFFS: The final four places at the World Cup will be determined via the UEFA playoffs, to be played in March 2026. There is no path to the World Cup 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.
All 16 teams have been confirmed.
Teams (FIFA ranking):
Italy (9)
Denmark (20)
Turkey (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)
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
Semifinals:
PATH A
1. Italy vs. Northern Ireland
2. Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Final: Winner semifinal 1 vs. Winner semifinal 2
PATH B
3. Ukraine vs. Sweden
4. Poland vs. Albania
Final: Winner semifinal 3 vs. Winner semifinal 4
PATH C
5. Turkey vs. Romania
6. Slovakia vs. Kosovo
Final: Winner semifinal 5 vs. Winner semifinal 6
PATH D
7. Denmark vs. North Macedonia
8. Czechia vs. Republic of Ireland
Final: Winner semifinal 7 vs. Winner semifinal 8
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.
This phase started in September and will be completed in November.
The group winners will qualify for the World Cup, with the two runners-up with the best record going on to take part in the interconfederation playoffs.
– Check out the fixtures and results | Latest tables
What was decided in November?
GROUP A: Panama entered the final day in second place behind Suriname on goal differential, but with a 2-0 win over El Salvador and Suriname’s 3-1 loss to Guatemala, they ended it as group winners and World Cup qualifiers. Meanwhile, an own goal by Guatemala in second-half stoppage time preserved Suriname’s World Cup dreams. Both Suriname and Group C’s Honduras finished with nine points and a plus-3 goal differential, but the next tiebreaker — goals scored in all group matches — went in favor of Suriname (9, compared with 5 for Honduras).
GROUP B: Curaçao became the smallest country ever to qualify for the World Cup, as a 0-0 draw at second-placed Jamaica preserved their one-point lead atop the group. Curaçao accomplished the feat without coach Dick Advocaat on the sideline. Jamaica’s 11 points were enough to send them through to the interconfederation playoffs.
GROUP C: Haiti qualified for the World Cup with a 2-0 win over Nicaragua. Honduras, the group leaders on goal differential entering the last day, drew 0-0 with Costa Rica and were eliminated from World Cup qualifying. Their plus-3 goal differential matched that of Group A’s Suriname, but they scored four fewer goals, sealing their place as the lowest-finishing runner-up.
The World Cup trophy on display in New York during the official Trophy Tour around host cities. Mike Stobe – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
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.
Roberto Lopes, left, and Garry Rodrigues of Cape Verde celebrate their side’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Cristiano Barbosa/Sportsfile via Getty Images
What was decided in November?
– 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). 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
The Socceroos qualified for the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in October. Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
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.
What was decided in November?
Round 5: Iraq kept their World Cup dreams alive 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.
Miguel Almiron celebrates after Paraguay secured their place in the finals after a 16-year wait. DANIEL DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images
Bolivia are in the interconfederation playoffs.
– Check out the results | Final table
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.
Interconfederation playoffs (2 places)
The playoffs, to be held in March 2026, 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.
