Teams around the world are finishing up their World Cup qualifying matches. Many countries have now earned their place at the 2026 tournament. The qualifying games started two years ago and most teams have completed their journey to reach the World Cup. Several nations confirmed their spots in the past few days. The competition will take place next summer with more teams than ever before. This marks the end of a long road for many national teams who worked hard to qualify. The 2026 World Cup will be bigger than previous tournaments and will welcome both familiar faces and new teams to the global stage.
Africa’s recent soccer qualifiers wrapped up on Tuesday with some interesting results. Big soccer nations like Egypt, Ghana and South Africa made it through as expected. But the real surprise came from Cape Verde a small island nation with less than 600,000 people. They shocked everyone by beating Cameroon & winning their group. This was a huge achievement for Cape Verde in the African qualifying games. The mix of traditional soccer powers & underdogs makes the competition exciting. Cape Verde’s success shows that smaller nations can compete with Africa’s best teams. Their victory over Cameroon was one of the biggest upsets in recent African soccer history.
Qatar made it through to the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday. They are the 24th team to get a spot in next year’s tournament. The World Cup will be bigger this time with 48 teams playing in Canada Mexico & the United States. After Qatar five more teams got their tickets to the World Cup. England Ivory Coast Saudi Arabia Senegal and South Africa all made it in. This means 28 teams are now ready for the tournament. Portugal almost joined them but they had bad luck. Hungary scored a late goal against them in their qualifying game. So Portugal will have to wait a bit longer to secure their spot.
Several important soccer games are happening in North America Central America and the Caribbean region. Teams in Europe are also playing key matches right now. Some national teams must wait until November to find out if they will move forward in World Cup qualifying. The next few weeks will be stressful for players & fans as they hope their teams can advance to the next round.
The race to qualify for the 2026 World Cup is heating up. Many teams are fighting for spots in the expanded 48-team tournament. The competition will be hosted by the United States Mexico and Canada. These three nations get automatic spots as hosts. Asia has already started its qualifying games. Several teams have won their early matches and look strong. Japan South Korea & Australia are doing well so far. They need more wins to secure their places. In Europe the qualifying hasn’t begun yet. The process will start soon and top teams like France England & Spain will battle for spots. Europe gets many World Cup places but competition is always tough. South American teams are also waiting to start their games. Brazil and Argentina are favorites to qualify. The expanded format means more teams from this region can make it. Africa’s qualifying journey is just beginning. Many strong teams like Senegal Morocco and Nigeria will compete for spots. The bigger tournament means more African teams can qualify than before. Teams must keep winning games to earn their place. The qualifying process will continue until 2025. More nations will know their World Cup fate in the coming months.
These Nations Have Already Secured Their 2026 World Cup Tickets
The next FIFA World Cup in 2026 will be much bigger than before. Instead of 32 teams like in Qatar last year it will have 48 teams competing. This is a big change for the tournament. So far 28 countries have earned their spot through qualifying matches that happened in October. Many teams are still fighting for the remaining spots. This expanded format means more nations will get to play on soccer’s biggest stage. The tournament will be hosted across North America in the United States, Mexico and Canada. This will be the first time so many teams get to join the World Cup. Fans are excited to see how this new bigger format will work out.
These are all the teams that have earned their spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far: United States (host) Mexico (host) Canada (host) That’s all for now. More teams will join this list as they win their qualifying matches over the next two years. The 2026 World Cup will be bigger than past tournaments with 48 teams playing instead of 32. This means many more countries still have a chance to qualify through their regional competitions. Note: This list shows confirmed teams as of October 14. The qualifying process is ongoing and will continue until late 2025.
The teams for the tournament are split up by regions. From North America,
– the host countries are Canada, Mexico and the United States.
– Asia has eight teams: Australia, Iran Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Uzbekistan.
– Africa sends nine teams: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana Ivory Coast Morocco, Senegal South Africa and Tunisia.
– No extra teams have qualified yet from North America besides the hosts.
– Europe has only England confirmed so far.
– From Oceania, New Zealand will take part.
– South America brings six teams: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Who’s Next in Line to Qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
World Cup qualifying matches are coming to an end soon. Each region of the world follows its own schedule and rules. This means teams from different continents will finish their qualifying games at different times. Some teams will know if they made it to the World Cup earlier than others. The qualifying process is not the same everywhere since FIFA lets each region run things their own way. Soon we’ll know which teams will play in the big tournament.
Ten soccer teams have a chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the next few days. Most of these teams are from Europe. They need to win their upcoming matches to secure their spot in the tournament. The teams are eager to join the World Cup lineup and represent their countries. A few good results could make their dreams come true. The qualifying matches will be important for these nations. Soccer fans are watching closely to see which teams make it through. Getting to the World Cup is a big deal for any country. The teams have worked hard to get this far. Now they just need to finish the job with strong performances.
Austria has a big chance to reach the World Cup. They haven’t played in the tournament since 1998. That’s six World Cups they missed in a row. But now things look good for them. They need to beat Cyprus in their next game on November 15. They also need Bosnia and Herzegovina to lose or draw against Romania. If both these things happen Austria will qualify. The fans in Vienna would be very happy to celebrate their return to the World Cup after such a long wait.
Croatia is very close to reaching the World Cup. They only need to get one point in their next game. This chance came after the Faroe Islands surprised everyone by beating the Czech Republic on Sunday. Croatia will play against the Faroe Islands at home in Rijeka on November 14. If they succeed they will make it to the World Cup for the eighth time in a row. This is a big moment for Croatian football fans who are excited about the upcoming match.
France’s national team came close to winning their UEFA qualifying group after playing just four matches. The team known as “Les Bleus” now needs to wait until November to try and secure their spot at the World Cup. They will play against Ukraine who sits in second place. The important game will take place in Paris on November 13. If France wins this match they will book their ticket to the World Cup. The French team has shown strong form so far and looks ready to finish the job at home.
Honduras has a good chance to advance in their World Cup quest. The national team can secure their spot if they beat Nicaragua on November 13. But they also need Haiti and Costa Rica to end in a tie when they play each other that day. If both these things happen Honduras will reach the World Cup for the fourth time in their history. The team known as “Los Catrachos” is now close to achieving their goal in Group C of the Concacaf tournament. Their fans are hopeful about these upcoming matches that could change their soccer history.
Jamaica’s national team showed their strength with a big 4-0 victory against Bermuda in the Concacaf Group B matches. The team known as the “Reggae Boyz” now has a good chance to move forward. They need to beat Trinidad & Tobago in their next game on November 13. They also need Bermuda to defeat Curaçao. If both these things happen Jamaica will secure their place in the next round.
The Netherlands national team has a clear path to qualify for Euro 2024. They just need to beat Poland in their next match on November 14. If the Dutch team wins this important game they will secure their spot in next summer’s tournament. The team known as “Oranje” controls their own fate in Group G of the UEFA qualifiers. Everything depends on this single match against Poland.
Norway is doing really well in Group I. The team led by star player Erling Haaland has almost secured their place in the World Cup. They just need one more step to make it official. If Norway beats Estonia on November 13 and gets a better result than Italy’s game against Moldova they will qualify. This would be a big achievement for the Norwegian team. Their strong performance has shocked many football fans who didn’t expect them to do so well in the group. Haaland’s goals have helped Norway get close to reaching the World Cup finals.
Portugal had a tough game against Hungary. Szoboszlai scored a last-minute goal that ended the match in a tie. This was not the result Portugal wanted but they still have a good chance to make it to the tournament. They can secure their spot if they beat Ireland in their next away game on November 13. They could also qualify if Hungary loses or draws against Armenia on the same day. The Portuguese team remains in a strong position despite this setback.
Spain has a big chance to qualify on November 15. They will play against Georgia and need to win this game. But that’s not all they need. Spain also has to hope that Bulgaria doesn’t lose to Turkey. If both these things happen Spain will win Group E and book their spot in the tournament. Spain has been doing great so far with four wins in four games. One more win could be enough to send them through. The Spanish team looks strong and their fans are excited about their chances to qualify.
Switzerland has a good opportunity to secure their spot in UEFA’s Group B during the November matches. They can qualify if they perform better than Kosovo on November 15. The path is simple: Switzerland will advance if they win and Kosovo draws or if Switzerland gets a draw while Kosovo loses. The Swiss team controls their destiny and just needs to focus on getting the right result.
Region-Wise Breakdown: How Many World Cup Spots Are Available in 2026?
Host Nations (3 spots): – United States – Mexico – Canada Europe (16 spots): The top European teams will qualify through their regular qualifying matches. Africa (9 spots): African teams will compete in their regional qualifiers to earn these places. Asia (8 spots): Teams from across Asia will play qualifying rounds for these positions. South America (6 spots): The strongest teams from South America will advance through their qualifiers. North/Central America (3 spots): Besides the host nations teams from this region will compete for the remaining spots. Oceania (1 spot): One team from the Pacific region will qualify. Playoff Tournament (2 spots): Six teams will compete in a mini-tournament for the final two places. This makes a total of 48 teams that will play in the biggest World Cup ever. The tournament will be much bigger than past events which had only 32 teams.
Canada Mexico and the United States got their spots in the tournament right away because they are hosting it together.
Eight teams from Asia have made it to the tournament. One more spot is still up for grabs through a playoff game. Iraq will play against the United Arab Emirates in November. The winner of this match will get a final chance to qualify through the intercontinental playoff. The Asian Football Confederation has done well to get so many teams into the competition. This shows how soccer is growing stronger in Asia.
The African qualifiers had 54 nations split into nine groups. Each group had six teams except for Group E which had five teams after Eritrea dropped out. Nine teams won their groups and qualified directly. Four second-place teams also got another chance. These teams are Cameroon DR Congo Gabon & Nigeria. They will play against each other in Morocco this November. Only one team will win this playoff. The winning team gets to compete in the intercontinental playoff for a final spot.
2026 FIFA World Cup: Which Countries Have Qualified So Far? Full List and Latest Results
The third round of Concacaf qualifying started on September 4. There are three groups with four teams in each group. The teams that win their groups will go straight to the next stage. The two teams that finish second best will have to play extra matches against teams from other parts of the world to try to qualify.
In Europe 54 teams compete to reach the World Cup. These teams play in 12 different groups. The teams that finish first in their groups get a direct ticket to the World Cup. The teams that end up in second place have another chance. They can still qualify through special playoff matches. These playoffs also include the four best teams from the UEFA Nations League who didn’t win their groups. The playoffs will happen in March 2026. Only four teams from these playoffs will make it to the World Cup. In total Europe gets 16 spots in the tournament.
New Zealand won the main spot for Oceania in the 2026 World Cup. New Caledonia will need to play extra matches in the intercontinental playoff to try to qualify. These were the results from the Oceania region which only gets one direct spot in the tournament.
The South American World Cup qualifiers have ended. Six teams from CONMEBOL made it to the tournament. These teams worked hard through many matches to earn their spots. Bolivia also did well & got a chance to compete in the intercontinental playoff. This gives them one more shot at reaching the World Cup. The qualifying games in South America are known to be tough and long. Teams had to play many matches to prove they deserve a place in the tournament.
New Caledonia & Bolivia have earned their places in a special tournament. The event will happen in March 2026 and will include six teams in total. This is part of the intercontinental playoff system where teams compete for final spots.
