Ready for the world’s biggest sporting event? The countdown is on for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Spread across the countries (Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.), 48 teams will take part in the largest edition of the tournament ever next summer.
The qualifying process picks back up in October. Which teams are already in and which ones are close to booking their spot?
When is the World Cup?
The World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. 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, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay are all 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;
- Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are in after qualifying through the African (CAF) confederation;
- New Zealand is in after qualifying through the Oceania (OFC) confederation;
Who is in (alphabetical order, total World Cup appearances):
- Algeria (5 appearances)
- Australia (7 appearances)
- Argentina (19 appearances)
- Brazil (23 appearances)
- Canada (3 appearances)
- Colombia (6 appearances)
- Ecuador (5 appearances)
- Egypt (4 appearances)
- Iran (7 appearances)
- Japan (8 appearances)
- Jordan (will make debut in 2026)
- Mexico (18 appearances)
- Morocco (7 appearances)
- New Zealand (3 appearances)
- Paraguay (8 appearances)
- South Korea (12 appearances)
- Tunisia (7 appearances)
- Uruguay (14 appearances)
- United States (12 appearances)
- Uzbekistan (will make debut in 2026)
Where Things Stand Across the Globe:
Asia (AFC) — With six teams in, there are an additional six are vying for two more spots in October. Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman are in one round-robin group. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Indonesia are in the other. Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan and South Korea have already directly qualified.
South America (CONMEBOL) — The qualifying rounds are done. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay have booked direct spots. Bolivia secured an intercontinental playoff spot. Chile, Peru, and Venezuela were eliminated.
Europe (UEFA) — The action continues in October but no teams have clinched spots yet. Spain, England, Portugal and Norway are in command of their groups. Italy is locked in a tight battle to finally qualify for the first time since 2014.
North America/Central America/Caribbean (CONCACAF) — Aside from the three co-hosts, no one from this region has booked their spot yet. There are 12 teams (split into three groups) playing through November. The three group winners will head directly to the World Cup. Look for teams like Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Honduras to be among the contenders.
Africa (CAF) — There are nine groups of six teams with the winners of each group directly advancing. Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have already clinched their spots.
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 (Venezuela)
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 intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
Australia, Iran, Jordan, Japan, South Korea, Uzbekistan
What’s happened so far?
The qualifying tournament in Asia started back in October 2023 with 46 teams participating. After three rounds of qualifying, six teams have booked World Cup spots, with two more direct spots up (and one playoff berth) up for grabs.
Round 4 consists 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. These games will be played in October.
| Group A | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Oman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Qatar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| UAE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Group B | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Iraq | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Indonesia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
The runners-up play each other in Round 5, with the winner then heading to the intercontinental playoff.
_____
CAF (Africa)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?
9 automatically, 1 enters the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia
What’s happened so far?
In all, 54 teams (now reduced to 52) are split into nine groups of six teams each. We saw the first two teams finally qualify in September.
The nine group winners will advance directly to the World Cup, and the four best second-place teams will enter a playoff round (two semifinals and a final) to decide which one will reach the intercontinental playoffs.
Morocco, the 2022 World Cup surprise semifinals, won their group. Algeria, Egypt, and Tunisia have also booked a spot. Cape Verde, Ghana and Senegal are in control of their respective groups.
Here’s the top two teams in each group. Teams that have qualified have an asterisk (*). Full standings can be found here.
| Group A | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Egypt* | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 23 |
| Burkina Faso | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| Group B | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Senegal | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| DR Congo | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
| Group C | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Benin | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
| South Africa | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| Group D | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Cape Verde | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 20 |
| Cameroon | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| Group E | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Morocco* | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Niger | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 12 |
| Group F | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Ivory Coast | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 23 |
| Gabon | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Group G | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Algeria* | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Uganda | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Group H | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Tunisia* | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 25 |
| Namibia | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| Group I | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Ghana | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Madagascar | 9 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 19 |
_____
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 intercontinental playoff round
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, which concluded in June. The top two teams from each group advanced to Round 3.
Round 3 will begin in September with three groups of four teams. The winners move onto the World Cup, and the two best runners-up get intercontinental playoff spots.
| Group A | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Suriname | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Panama | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| El Salvador | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Guatemala | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Group B | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Curaçao | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Jamaica | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Trin. and Tob. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Bermuda | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Group C | GP | W | D | L | Pts |
| Haiti | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Honduras | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Costa Rica | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Nicaragua | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
_____
CONMEBOL (South America)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?
6 automatically, 1 enters the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia (playoff)
What’s happened so far?
Six teams from the 10-team region have clinched, with Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador moving onto the World Cup. Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia also booked their spots. Venezuela currently holds a slim lead for the playoff spot over Bolivia. Chile and Peru are officially eliminated.
Here’s how the current table stands. Teams that have qualified have an asterisk (*) and the intercontinental playoff-bound team has the arrow (ˆ). Full standings can be found here.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Argentina* | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 38 |
| 2 | Ecuador* | 18 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 29 |
| 3 | Colombia* | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 28 |
| 4 | Uruguay* | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 28 |
| 5 | Brazil* | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 28 |
| 6 | Paraguay* | 18 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 28 |
| 7 | Boliviaˆ | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 20 |
| 8 | Venezuela | 18 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 18 |
| 9 | Peru | 18 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 12 |
| 10 | Chile | 18 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
_____
OFC (Oceania)
How many World Cup teams have qualified?
1 automatically, 1 enters the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
New Zealand, New Caledonia (playoff team)
What’s happened so far:
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. Full standings can be found here.
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.
_____
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 happened so far:
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. Other top teams – France, Germany, Spain, Portugal – started the process in 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. Full standings can be found here.
| Group A | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Germany | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| N. Ireland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Slovakia | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Luxembourg | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Group B | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Switzerland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Kosovo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Sweden | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Group C | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Denmark | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Scotland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Greece | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Belarus | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Group D | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Ukraine | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Iceland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Azerbaijan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Group E | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Spain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Turkey | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Bulgaria | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Group F | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Portugal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Armenia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Hungary | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Rep. Ireland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Group G | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Netherlands | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Poland | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Finland | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Lithuania | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Malta | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Group H | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Austria | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Bosnia-Herz. | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Romania | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| Cyprus | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| San Marino | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Group I | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Norway | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Italy | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Israel | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Estonia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Moldova | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Group J | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| N. Macedonia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Belgium | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| Wales | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Liechtenstein | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Group K | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| England | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Albania | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| Serbia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Latvia | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Andorra | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Group L | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| Croatia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| Czechia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Faroe Isl. | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Montenegro | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Gibraltar | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
Source: foxsports.com