Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup began on Oct. 12, 2023, when minor nations from the Asian confederation played their first round of matches. Myanmar’s Lwin Moe Aung scored the very first goal in a 5-1 win over Macau.
All confederations now have qualifying well underway, but we’re a long way from discovering the full list of 45 nations who will join hosts United States, Mexico and Canada to make up the full field of 48.
Japan were the very first country to qualify on March 20.
QUALIFIED (10/45): Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Argentina, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Brazil, Ecuador
What was decided this week
European qualifying only started in March, while Africa took a break in June and Oceania is wrapped up.
Four more qualifiers were confirmed from the Asia region, with Brazil, Ecuador securing a route from South America.
In Concacaf, the second round came to a close — though there were no direct qualifiers from this stage.
Here’s where we’re at around the globe.
As in recent qualifying competitions, all 10 nations play each other home and away. The top six nations qualify directly to the finals. The seventh-placed team will go into the inter-confederation playoffs in March 2026.
The first qualifiers took place in September 2023, with the league phase to be completed with double-header in September.
Argentina were the one team to confirm their place before the June fixtures.
How it went this week
A 2-0 defeat for Venezuela (seventh, 15 points) in Uruguay (4th, 24 points) on Tuesday opened the door for two teams to book their places, and it removed most of the jeopardy for the last two automatic spots.
South American qualifying
GPPTS1 – Argentina (Q)16352 – Ecuador (Q)16253 – Brazil (Q)16254 – Uruguay (Q)16245 – Paraguay16246 – Colombia16227 – Venezuela16188 – Bolivia16179 – Peru161210 – Chile16101-6 qualifies / 7 in playoffs
It enabled a 1-0 for Brazil (3rd, 25 points) over Paraguay (5th, 24 points) to get Carlo Ancelotti’s team over the line, followed shortly afterward by Ecuador (2nd, 25 points) through a 0-0 home draw with Peru (9th, 12 points).
So, we know four of the six automatic qualifiers with two games to be played in September.
Paraguay need a point from a home match against Ecuador and a trip to Peru. They will also qualify regardless if Venezuela fail to win in Argentina.
Colombia will qualify with one win, and they host Bolivia (eighth, 17 points) then go to Venezuela. They will also qualify with a draw if Venezuela lose in Argentina.
Can anyone crash the top six? It’s only mathematically possible for Venezuela and Bolivia.
Venezuela must go to Argentina in their first game and will have to pull off a shock and hope Colombia do not beat Bolivia. That would set up a huge final-day meeting between Venezuela and Colombia.
Bolivia have to win their two matches (the second is at home at altitude vs. Brazil), and then hope Colombia lose to Venezuela and Venezuela fail to win in Argentina.
In reality, Colombia are quite safe and it’s probably a battle between Venezuela and Bolivia for seventh and the playoff spot. And that could be tight with both having matches against Argentina and Brazil.
Peru have a very small chance of crashing seventh if they win in Uruguay and at home to Paraguay. It would also need Venezuela to lose both games, and Bolivia pick up no more than one point.
– Check out the fixtures and results | Latest table
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 the main part will be done and dusted in June.
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’re now left with 18 nations, drawn into three groups of six teams. Matches began in September 2024 and the round is completed on Tuesday.
The group winners and runners-up will take 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, with Iran following on March 25. On June 5, Jordan, South Korea and Uzbekistan followed.
The six nations who finish in third and fourth move on to Round 4.
World Cup groups – Asia
Group AIranQatarUzbekistanUAEKyrgyz RepNorth KoreaGroup BSouth KoreaIraqJordanOmanPalestineKuwaitGroup CJapanAustraliaSaudi ArabiaBahrainChinaIndonesia
How it played out on Tuesday
GROUP A
Uzbekistan (21 points) booked their first-ever World Cup appearance by drawing 0-0 in the United Arab Emirates (15 points) on Thursday, joining Iran (23 points) in the finals from this group. UAE move on to Round 4 along with Qatar (13 points).
Kyrgyz Republic (8 points) and North Korea (3 points) are out.
GROUP B
South Korea (22 points) qualified on Thursday with a 2-0 win in Iraq (15 points) to secure their place at the World Cup. That result also meant Jordan (16 points) — who had won 3-0 in Oman earlier that day — would also go to the World Cup for the first time.
Iraq will move on to Round 4, along with Oman (11 points), who finished fourth with a draw Tuesday against Palestine (10 points).
Kuwait (5 points) have been eliminated.
GROUP C
Australia (19 points) secured their place at the finals on Tuesday when they won 2-1 over Saudi Arabia (13 points).
Saudi Arabia join fourth-placed Indonesia (12 points) in Round 4.
Japan (23 points) qualified in March, while China (9 points) and Bahrain (6 points) are eliminated.
– Check out the results here | Final tables
Round 4: The six teams in this stage will be drawn into two groups of three on July 17. They will play each other once, so two matches, on neutral ground in October 2025.
Indonesia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates will take part.
The group winners take the final two automatic places at the World Cup.
The two runners-up continue on to Round 5.
Round 5: A two-legged tie in November 2025 to earn the place in the inter-confederation playoffs.
Qualifying finally began on March 21 when most of the European teams who are not in UEFA Nations League (UNL) action played their first matches.
There are 55 European nations, although 54 will compete as Russia remain suspended due to the invasion of Ukraine.
There are 12 groups of four or five teams, playing home and away matches. The group stage qualifying process continues with double-headers in June, September and October, and it’s then completed in November.
The 12 group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, with the 12 runners-up entering the playoff system.
World Cup groups – UEFA
Group AGermanySlovakiaN IrelandLuxembourg-Group BSwitzerlandSwedenSloveniaKosovo-Group CDenmarkGreeceScotlandBelarus-Group DFranceUkraineIcelandAzerbaijan-Group ESpainTurkeyGeorgiaBulgaria-Group FPortugalHungaryRep of IrelandArmenia-Group GNetherlandsPolandFinlandLithuaniaMaltaGroup HAustriaRomaniaBosniaCyrpusSan MarinoGroup IItalyNorwayIsraelEstoniaMoldovaGroup JBelgiumWalesN MacedoniaKazakhstanLiechtensteinGroup KEnglandSerbiaAlbaniaLatviaAndorraGroup LCroatiaCzechiaMontenegroFaroesGibraltar
– Check out the latest fixtures and results here | Tables
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 inter-confederation playoffs.
The UEFA playoffs involve 16 teams: the 12 runners-up plus the four best-ranked group winners from the UNL, who did not finish in the top two in World Cup qualifying. This creates four routes, each with four teams featuring a one-legged semifinal and a final for a place at the World Cup.
The priority order for the four World Cup playoff places through the UNL is: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, England, Norway, Wales, Czechia, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Moldova, San Marino
Of the 14 teams to win their UNL groups, 10 of those were in Pot 1 or 2 for the World Cup qualifying draw — so on ranking would finish in the top two of their group. If that comes to pass, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Moldova and San Marino would get a playoff place.
Seeding:Pot 1: World Cup qualifying group runners-up with the best four recordsPot 2: As above, teams fifth to eighthPot 3: As above, teams ninth to 12thPot 4: UEFA Nations League teams
Semifinals:Pot 1 vs. Pot 4Pot 2 vs. Pot 3
Usually, Concacaf would have six automatic places in qualifying — but for the 2026 finals three of the six are taken up by the hosts. That leaves three places to be won, plus two spots in the inter-confederation playoff path.
Concacaf saw 32 nations enter the race to make the finals.
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, both 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
World Cup groups – Concacaf
Group AHondurasAntigua & BarbudaCubaBermudaCayman IslandsGroup BCosta RicaTrinidad & TobagoSaint Kitts & NevisGrenadaBahamasGroup CHaitiCuraçaoSaint LuciaBarbadosArubaGroup DPanamaNicaraguaGuyanaMontserratBelizeGroup EJamaicaGuatemalaDominican RepublicDominicaBritish Virgin IslandsGroup FEl SalvadorSurinamePuerto RicoSt Vincent & GrenadinesAnguilla
– Check out the results | Final tables
Round 3: The 12 remaining teams will be drawn into three groups of four teams on Thursday. This phase will be played in September, October and November 2025. 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 inter-confederation playoffs.
There were 54 FIFA-affiliated nations in the draw.
However, Eritrea subsequently withdrew. Congo, in the same group, were suspended by FIFA on Feb. 6 due to government interference, though they had lost all three group games at the time.
Round 1: The teams are in eight groups of six nations, and one group of four (with Eritrea and Congo removed.)
The nine group winners qualify for the World Cup.
This stage began in November 2023 and will be completed with rounds to be played in September and October.
The race to the World Cup is starting to take shape with qualifying at the halfway stage.
World Cup groups – Africa
Group AEgyptBurkina FasoGuinea-BissauSierra LeoneEthiopiaDjiboutiGroup BSenegalDR CongoMauritaniaTogoSudanSouth SudanGroup CNigeriaSouth AfricaBeninZimbabweRwandaLesothoGroup DCameroonCape VerdeAngolaLibyaEswatiniMauritiusGroup EMoroccoZambiaCongoTanzaniaNigerEritreaGroup FIvory CoastGabonKenyaGambiaBurundiSeychellesGroup GAlgeriaGuineaUgandaMozambiqueBotswanaSomaliaGroup HTunisiaEquatorial GuineaNamibiaMalawiLiberiaSão ToméGroup IMaliGhanaMadagascarCent African RepComorosChad
– Check out the latest fixtures and results here | Latest tables
Round 2: The four best runners-up will enter playoffs (two semifinals and a final) to decide which one country will go to the inter-confederation playoffs. This stage will be played in November 2025.
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 21New Caledonia 3-0 TahitiNew Zealand 7-0 Fiji
Final, March 24New Caledonia 0-3 New Zealand
As winners of the final, New Zealand have qualified for the World Cup, with losers New Caledonia moving onto the inter-confederation playoffs.
Inter-confederation 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. The host confederation (so for this edition Concacaf) receives a second slot.
1 Africa1 Asia2 Concacaf1 Oceania (New Caledonia)1 South America
The two nations with the best FIFA World Ranking will be seeded and go straight into one of the two finals.
The four other countries will be drawn to play a semifinal, feeding through to play a seed for one of the two places at the World Cup.
The playoffs are due to be held in one of the World Cup host nations as a test event.
