The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification is the qualifying process for the FIFA World Cup 26 in joining hosts Canada, Mexico, and the US. It is the process that will define which teams are playing in the FIFA World Cup 26. The next edition of the FIFA World Cup is going to be held with 48 teams for the 1st time in Soccer history,.You all going to witness these nations playing for the golden trophy.
The 23rd edition of the World Cup but the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries: Canada, Mexico, and the USA.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification list is the qualifying process that will decide the national teams that will join hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Teams
Table of Contents
The list of the qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 26 is below.
Europe (UEFA): 16 Teams
North, Central America, and the Caribbean(CONCACAF): 6 Teams
South America (CONMEBOL): 6 Teams
Oceania Football Confederation (OFA): 1 Team
Confederation of African Football (CAF): 9 Teams
Asia (AFC): 8 Teams
Play Off: 2 Teams
Confederation qualification
The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process includes in-depth qualification guides and the latest data.
A full list of qualifiers for the 23rd FIFA World Cup can be found below.
Continent
Teams
Qualified
Asia
8
2
Africa
9
–
UEFA (EUROPE)
16
–
North America, Central America, and the Caribbean
3 host + 3
3 host
South America
6
1
Oceania
1
1
Play Off
2
–
Total
48
7
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is European football’s administrative and controlling body. This Football Association has 55 members part of this association and all represent their respective countries. Here is the list of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification teams below
Confederation
Available slots in finals
Teams started
Qualifying start date
Qualifying end date
AFC
8
46
12 October 23
November 25
CAF
9
53
15 November 23
November 25
CONCACAF
6
34
March 2024
November 2025
CONMEBOL
6
10
7 September 23
September 2025
OFC
1
11
September 2024
March 2025
UEFA
16
55
March 2025
March 2026
Play Off
2
6
March 2026
March 2026
The FIFA World Cup is the largest and most prestigious sporting event in the world. 16 groups of 3 teams and 80 matches in total were played in the 16 Venues (16 host cities) in World Cup 2026.
AFC (Asian Football Confederation)
AFC Format
First round: 20 teams of FIFA AFC ranked from 27th to 46th played home and away matches. Out of the 20 teams, 10 have qualified for the next round.
Second round: 36 teams of FIFA AFC ranked from 1 to 26 played (10 teams from first round) home and away matches. All the teams are divided into 9 groups of 4 teams. Out of the 36 teams, 18 have qualified for the next round, including both the winner and the runner-up.
Third round: 18 qualified teams are divided into 3 groups of 6 teams and play home and away matches. Out of the 18 teams, 6 have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group, and the remaining will qualify for the fourth round.
Fourth round: Teams that finish in third and fourth place in the points table from the third round will qualify for this round. All six teams are divided into two groups, and the winner of each group will advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Fifth round: Fourth round group runner-up teams from groups A and B will qualify for this round. The fifth-round winner will join inter-confederation playoffs.
9 groups of 6 teams will play Home and Away matches. Group winners will join the 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams.
GROUP A
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Egypt
6
5
1
0
14
2
+12
16
2
Burkina Faso
6
3
2
1
13
7
+6
11
3
Sierra Leone
6
2
2
2
7
7
0
8
4
Ethiopia
6
1
3
2
7
7
0
6
5
Guinea-Bissau
6
1
3
2
5
7
−2
6
6
Djibouti
6
0
1
5
4
20
−16
1
GROUP B
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
DR Congo
6
4
1
1
7
2
+5
13
2
Senegal
6
3
3
0
8
1
+7
12
3
Sudan
6
3
3
0
8
2
+6
12
4
Togo
6
0
4
2
4
7
−3
4
5
South Sudan
6
0
3
3
2
10
−8
3
6
Mauritania (Z)
6
0
2
4
2
9
−7
2
GROUP C
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
South Africa
6
4
1
1
10
5
+5
13
2
Rwanda
6
2
2
2
4
4
0
8
3
Benin
6
2
2
2
6
7
−1
8
4
Nigeria
6
1
4
1
7
6
+1
7
5
Lesotho
6
1
3
2
4
5
−1
6
6
Zimbabwe
6
0
4
2
5
9
−4
4
GROUP D
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Cape Verde
6
4
1
1
7
5
+2
13
2
Cameroon
6
3
3
0
12
4
+8
12
3
Libya
6
2
2
2
6
7
−1
8
4
Angola
6
1
4
1
4
4
0
7
5
Mauritius
6
1
2
3
6
10
−4
5
6
Eswatini
6
0
2
4
4
9
−5
2
GROUP E
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Morocco
5
5
0
0
14
2
+12
15
2
Niger
4
2
0
2
6
4
+2
6
3
Tanzania
4
2
0
2
2
4
−2
6
4
Zambia
4
1
0
3
6
7
−1
3
5
Congo
3
0
0
3
2
13
−11
0
6
Eritrea
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
GROUP F
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Ivory Coast
6
5
1
0
14
0
+14
16
2
Gabon
6
5
0
1
12
6
+6
15
3
Burundi
6
3
1
2
13
7
+6
10
4
Kenya
6
1
3
2
11
8
+3
6
5
Gambia (Z)
6
1
1
4
12
13
−1
4
6
Seychelles (E)
6
0
0
6
2
30
−28
0
Google G
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Algeria
6
5
0
1
16
6
+10
15
2
Mozambique
6
4
0
2
10
11
−1
12
3
Botswana
6
3
0
3
9
8
+1
9
4
Uganda
6
3
0
3
6
7
−1
9
5
Guinea
6
2
1
3
4
5
−1
7
6
Somalia (Z)
6
0
1
5
3
11
−8
1
Group H
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Tunisia
6
5
1
0
9
0
+9
16
2
Namibia
6
3
3
0
8
2
+6
12
3
Liberia
6
3
1
2
7
4
+3
10
4
Equatorial Guinea
6
2
1
3
4
8
−4
7
5
Malawi
6
2
0
4
4
6
−2
6
6
São Tomé and Príncipe
6
0
0
6
2
14
−12
0
Group I
Pos
Teams
Pld
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Ghana
6
5
0
1
15
5
+10
15
2
Comoros
6
4
0
2
9
7
+2
12
3
Madagascar
6
3
1
2
9
6
+3
10
4
Mali
6
2
3
1
8
4
+4
9
5
Central African Republic
6
1
2
3
8
13
−5
5
6
Chad
6
0
0
6
1
15
−14
0
Ranking List of runners-up
The top four teams will be qualify or the Secound round
Pos
Group
Teams
Pld
Win
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Group F
Gabon
6
5
0
1
12
6
+6
15
2
Group D
Cameroon
6
3
3
0
12
4
+8
12
3
Group B
Senegal
6
3
3
0
8
1
+7
12
4
Group H
Namibia
6
3
3
0
8
2
+6
12
5
Group I
Comoros
6
4
0
2
9
7
+2
12
6
Group G
Mozambique
6
4
0
2
10
11
−1
12
7
Group A
Burkina Faso
6
3
2
1
13
7
+6
11
8
Group C
Rwanda
6
2
2
2
4
4
0
8
9
Group E
Niger
4
2
0
2
6
4
+2
6
Second round
Winners will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams, and the runner-up will qualify for the Inter-confederation playoffs.
Semifinals
November 2025
Team 1 vs Team 2
November 2025
Team 3 vs Team 4
Final
November 2025
Winner of Semifinals 1 vs Winner of Semifinals 2
CONCACAF (Central America and Caribbean Association Football)
Three nations in CONCACAF—Canada, Mexico, and the United States qualified for WC 2026 as host nations. CONCACAF 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers have stated from 22 March 2024 to 18 November 2025.
First round: CONCACAF teams ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA ranking of November 23. 2 winners have qualified for the next round.
Second round: 30 teams and the 2 first-round group winners will play in a two-legged ranked 1 to 28 based on the FIFA rankings of November 2023, play next round. It is 6 groups of 5 teams. Toal The three winners have qualified for the third round.
Third round: The 12 winning teams from round two will join the third round, and all teams are divided into 3 groups of four teams. After the Home and Away matches, all group winners will qualify for the FIFA World Cup teams. The two best-ranked runners-up will advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.
Qualified teams – USA, Mexico and Canada (host) and 3 CONCACAF teams are ready to qualify
Qualifying was expected to begin in September 2024.
First round: The 4 OFC teams would be split into two groups based on their FIFA Ranking(4 lowest FIFA-ranked teams), and play round-robin matches at a centralized location.
Second round: The 7 highest-ranked teams would play knockout two-legged home-and-away matches with the top 2 teams from each group.
Third round: The 4 OFC teams play known out-stage matches. The eventual winner would advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Entrants
American Samoa
Samoa
Cook Islands
Solomon Islands
Fiji
Tahiti
New Caledonia
Tonga
New Zealand
Vanuatu
Papua New Guinea
OFC 2026 World Cup Qualification Fixtures and Results
Winners will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams, and the runner-up will qualify for the Inter-confederation playoffs.
Semi-finals
New Caledonia vs Tahiti
Final Score: 3-0
New Zealand vs Fiji
Final Score: 7-0
Final
New Caledonia vs New Zealand
Final Score: 0-3
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations)
The UEFA Executive Committee confirmed the qualification format during their meeting in Switzerland on January 25, 2023. The qualification will involve all 12 groups being divided into 4 or 5 teams to compete in home-and-away round-robin matches.
First round: 12 groups of 4 and 5 teams with group winners will join for the 2026 World Cup final.
Secondround: The 16th group runner-up would be joined by the best 2 Nations League group winners, based on the National League overall ranking.
Inter-confederation play-offs
Six teams will be held to decide the last two FIFA World Cup berths. 1 from per confederation except UEFA.
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Top Goal Scorers
There have been more than 91 goals scored in the 40 total matches, with an average of 2.27 goal-scorers in each match. Here is the list of top Goal scorers from the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying team schedule.
