All but six spots for the 2026 World Cup have been secured following qualification play on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
After the three remaining World Cup berths out of Concacaf were clinched, 42 nations have punched tickets to next summer’s 48-team tournament.
Belgium and Scotland — which clinched its spot in dramatic fashion on Nov. 18 — were the final two World Cup qualifying group winners out of UEFA.
In Concacaf, Curaçao, Haiti and Panama secured World Cup berths on Nov. 18. This is the first time that Curaçao has qualified for a World Cup, while Haiti returns after last playing in the tournament in 1974. Concacaf will have at least six countries representing the confederation at the World Cup, as Canada, Mexico and the United States received automatic berths as host nations.
Here’s what to know about where qualifying stands for the 2026 World Cup:
Who has qualified for World Cup 2026?
The 2026 World Cup will include 48 teams, a huge jump up from the 32 that participated in Qatar 2022. Following November’s qualifiers, 42 nations have qualified.
Here is a complete list of every country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup:
- Host nations: Canada, Mexico, United States
- Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
- Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
- Concacaf: Curaçao, Haiti, Panama
- Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland
- Oceania: New Zealand
- South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
World Cup qualifiers: How many spots for each region?
Here is a complete breakdown of how FIFA divided all 48 berths for the 2026 World Cup:
- Host nations (3): Canada, Mexico and the United States all qualified as soon as they were picked to host the tournament.
- Asia (8): Eight Asian countries have qualified. The Asian Football Confederation will place one team in the intercontinental playoff in March, with Iraq defeating the United Arab Emirates in a two-legged tie in November to extend its World Cup hopes.
- Africa (9): African qualifying sorted 54 countries into nine groups of six (though Eritrea withdrew from Group E before play began). The nine group winners have qualified, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo emerged from a four-team playoff and earned a spot in the intercontinental playoff in March.
- Concacaf (3): The region’s third round — featuring three groups of four — began play on Thursday, Sept. 4. Group winners qualify directly, while the two best runners-up — Jamaica and Suriname — will enter the intercontinental playoff.
- Europe (16): UEFA qualifying features 54 teams broken up into 12 groups. Group winners qualify for the World Cup, while the second-place finishers (along with the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League who didn’t win their qualifying groups) will enter a playoff for Europe’s final four berths that is set for March 2026.
- Oceania (1): New Zealand has already claimed Oceania’s only guaranteed berth at the 2026 World Cup, while New Caledonia is headed to the intercontinental playoff.
- South America (6): CONMEBOL’s marathon qualifying tournament has concluded, with six teams getting places at the World Cup. A seventh (Bolivia) claimed the region’s spot in the intercontinental playoff.
- Intercontinental playoff (2): Bolivia, DR Congo, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname will compete in a six-team tournament scheduled for March 2026. The tournament will be held in Mexico.
