2026 World Cup: Who has qualified and who can make it?

We are one year away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the battle for qualification is in full gear.  And while the definitive list of the 48 teams that will participate in the largest edition of the tournament hasn't been set, we do know the teams that are currently in and which ones are closer to booking their spot. Let's dive in!

What and when is the World Cup? 

The tournament will be the 23rd edition of the biggest sporting event on the planet – with 48 teams from around the world set to qualify. It will run from June 11, 2026, to July 19, 2026, and will be co-hosted by three countries (United States, Canada and Mexico). The FOX family of networks and the FOX Sports app are your complete home for World Cup content, including live matches, complete highlights, commentary and analysis, and full-match replays.

What we know:

• 48 teams will participate in the World Cup;
• 46 of those will qualify directly; the other two will be via the six-team intercontinental playoff;
• Three co-host teams — Canada, Mexico, United States — are in;
• Argentina and Brazil are in after qualifying through the South American (CONMEBOL) confederation;
• Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea and Uzbekistan are in after qualifying through the Asian (AFC) confederation;
• New Zealand is in after qualifying through the Oceania (OFC) confederation;

Who is in (alphabetical order, total World Cup appearances):

• Australia (7 appearances)
• Argentina (19 appearances)
• Brazil (23 appearances)
• Canada (3 appearances)
• Ecuador (5 appearances)
• Iran (7 appearances)
• Japan (8 appearances)
• Jordan (will make debut in 2026)
• Mexico (18 appearances)
• New Zealand (3 appearances)
• South Korea (12 appearances)
• United States (12 appearances)
• Uzbekistan (will make debut in 2026)

What happened in June:

Asia (AFC) — Australia became the sixth country in the region to book its World Cup spot as it will join other regional powerhouses in Iran, Japan, and South Korea. There are also two surprise sides in Jordan and Uzbekistan who will be making their first ever World Cup trips next year. The next round of qualifying for the remaining two spots will be in October.

South America (CONMEBOL) — Brazil and Ecuador have joined Argentina as the three teams from the region that have qualified for the World Cup. Other top teams like Colombia and Uruguay will have to wait until qualifying matches pick back up in October. 

Europe (UEFA) — No teams qualified have qualified yet. Four notable squads – Spain, France, Germany, and Portugal — still haven't begun qualifying due to playing in the UEFA Nations League finals last week. Other heavyweights like England, Italy and the Netherlands have begun their World Cup qualifying campaigns. The matches pick back up in October. 

North America/Central America/Caribbean (CONCACAF) — Aside from the three co-hosts, no one from this region has booked their spot yet. The second of three rounds of qualifying wrapped up on Tuesday, with teams like Costa Rica, Honduras, and Jamaica still in the mix. The next round of qualifying resumes in October. 

Africa (CAF) — Another region that won't see any qualified participants just yet, with these teams not playing in June. Egypt has a sizable lead in its qualifying group, as do other contenders like Morocco and Senegal. The matches pick back up in October. 

Oceania (OFA) — This is done and dusted, with New Zealand already in and having this confederation's only direct spot. The tiny island of New Caledonia, officially a French overseas territory, still has a shot as a participant in the intercontinental playoff. 

The intercontinental playoffs, explained:

Ahead of the World Cup, two spots will be clinched in the playoffs that will take place in March 2026. Six teams will participate, with Europe (UEFA) being excluded from this round:

• 1 Africa (TBD)
• 1 Asia (TBD)
• 2 North and Central America/Caribbean (TBD)
• 1 Oceania (New Caledonia)
• 1 South America (TBD)

The two teams with the highest FIFA rankings will get byes to the two separate finals. The other four teams will face each other to reach those finalists. The two teams to emerge from this playoff round will go to the World Cup. 

Region-by-region breakdown:

AFC (Asia)

How many World Cup teams can qualify? 
8 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs

Who is in?
Australia, Iran, Jordan, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan

What's happened so far?

The qualifying tournament in Asia actually started back in October 2023, and we have now concluded Round 3 of the qualifying process. Six teams have booked World Cup spots, with two more direct spots up (and one playoff berth) up for grabs when action picks back up in September.

In Group A, Iran has qualified along with tournament debut side Uzbekistan. Both the United Arab Emirates and Qatar will move onto Round 4 for another shot at qualifying. Kyrgyzstan and North Korea were eliminated. 

In Group B, South Korea is in and so is debut side Jordan. Iraq and Oman will move onto Round 4 for another shot at qualifying. Palestine and Kuwait were eliminated. 

In Group C, Japan and Australia are in. Saudi Arabia and Indonesia will move onto Round 4 for another shot at qualifying. China and Bahrain were eliminated. 

Round 4 will consist of six teams (the third- and fourth-placed teams from Round 3), and split into two groups. Those group winners advance to the World Cup. The runners-up go to Round 5, with the winner then heading to the intercontinental playoff.  

Here's how Round 3 finished, with World Cup-qualified teams noted by an asterisk (*). Full standings can be found here. 

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CAF (Africa)

How many World Cup teams can qualify?
9 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs

Who is in?
None qualified yet

What's happened so far?

Nothing in June. Having last played in March, the 54 teams (now reduced to 52) are split into nine groups of six teams each, and all return to action in November. 

The nine group winners will advance directly to the World Cup, and the four best second-place teams will fight for an intercontinental playoff spot. At the halfway point of the qualification phase, there are plenty of top teams in control of their respective groups. 

Teams like Egypt and South Africa are in control of their respective groups for the moment. Morocco, the 2022 World Cup surprise semifinals, are also in control in their group. 

The one wrinkle is Group E – which has been reduced to four teams after the disqualification of Congo and Eritrea – and how that could potentially affect whoever finishes in second place, since it may not have enough points to be considered for the intercontinental playoff phase. 

Here are the top two teams from each group, as things stand. Full standings can be found here.

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CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean)

How many World Cup teams can qualify?
6 automatically (3 co-hosts, 3 through qualifying), 2 enter the playoffs

Who is in?
Canada, Mexico, United States

What's happened so far?

The three co-hosts are in, leaving three more automatic spots for the region. There are also two spots for the intercontinental playoff to be determined.  Initially, 32 teams began the process, with 30 teams – six groups of five teams – advancing into the second round of qualification.

 The top two sides from the six groups (12 teams total) now advance to the third round, where they'll be split into three groups of four. The winners move onto the World Cup, and the two best runners-up get playoff spots.

Here's who advanced from the second round:

In Group A, Honduras and Bermuda advanced. 

In Group B, Costa Rica and Trinidad & Tobago advanced.

In Group C, Curaçao and Haiti advanced. 

In Group D, Panama and Nicaragua advanced.

In Group E, Jamaica and Guatemala advanced. 

In Group F, Suriname and El Salvador advanced. 

Full standings can be found here. 
 

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CONMEBOL (South America)

How many World Cup teams can qualify?
6 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs

Who is in?
Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador

What's happened so far?

Three teams from the 10-team region have clinched, with Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador moving onto the World Cup. Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia still have work to do to qualify directly. Venezuela currently holds the playoff spot. 

Bolivia and Peru still have a small window to get the playoff spot, but Chile is officially eliminated. 

Here's how the current table stands. Teams that have qualified have an asterisk (*). Full standings can be found here. 

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OFC (Oceania)

How many World Cup teams have qualified?
1 automatically, 1 enters the playoffs

Who is in?
New Zealand, New Caledonia (playoff team)

What's on tap:

The 11-team qualifying tournament from this region, consisting of countries and territories in the South Pacific, concluded in March. One team emerged from Round 1, joining the seven top-ranked teams of the region. Those eight teams were split into two groups for Round 2, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals. 

Semifinals, March 21
New Caledonia 3, Tahiti 0
New Zealand 7, Fiji 0

Final, March 24
New Zealand 3, New Caledonia 0

New Zealand will head to the World Cup, while New Caledonia will be one of the six teams in the intercontinental playoff. Full standings can be found here. 

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UEFA (Europe)

How many World Cup teams can qualify?
16 (12 automatically, 4 through a UEFA-only playoff)

Who is in?
None qualified yet

What's on tap:

There are 54 (excluding Russia) teams who began the qualifying process in March. Some notable teams have already begun the qualifying process – including England, Italy, and the Netherlands. The four Nations Leagues semifinalists – France, Germany, Spain, Portugal – won't enter the fold until September. 

In all, there are 12 groups of either four or five teams each. The winner of each group will clinch World Cup spots.

The 12 runners-up move to a subsequent playoff round, added by the four best-ranked Nations League group winners that did not finish their World Cup qualifying group in first or second place. These 16 teams will then be bracketed to clinch the remaining four World Cup spots in March 2026.

European teams cannot reach the World Cup via the intercontinental playoff.

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