FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers are now underway as nations vie for a place at the biggest Soccer World Cup ever. The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest tournaments of members of the Six Nations confederations all over the world. All FIFA-associated teams qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, will join hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In this tournament, 48 teams would play and qualification began on 7 September 2023. Here is the list of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers from UEFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFA, CAF, and AFC.
The process of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification was allowed by the FIFA executive committee on 9 May 2017 in Zürich. Before the tournament, all 210 remaining FIFA member associations are eligible to enter the qualifying process. Canada, Mexico, and the United States are the host nations so they will qualify automatically.
- 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
- FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers –
Format for the qualification process
Table of Contents
All you need to know about FIFA World Cup 26 Format for the qualification process. Here are about the qualifying process for the expanded 48-team tournament.
- Each confederation is responsible for its qualification tournament
- League format
- Single round-robin format
- Knockout format
- One of the participating nations or in neutral territory
- Single-leg knockout format
2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers
Confederation qualification of FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers below –
- Qualifying campaigns are now underway and It started in September 2023.
- Expanded 48-Nation will participate in the tournament
AFC
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 8
- Qualified Teams: 0
- First round – 20 teams (ranked 27–46)
- Second round – 36 Teams (round-robin )
- Third round – 18 Teams (round-robin)
- Fourth round – 6 Teams
- Fifth round – inter-confederation ply-offs
CAF
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 9
- Qualified Teams: 0
- First round – 9 groups of 6 teams (round-robin)
- Second round – 4 best-ranked group runners-up (inter-confederation play-offs)
CONCACAF
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 6
- Qualified Teams: 3 (Canada, Mexico, USA (3))
- First round – 4 teams (FIFA ranked 29 to 32)
- Second round – 30 Teams (CONCACAF teams ranked 1 to 28)
- Third round – 12 Teams (inter-confederation play-offs)
CONMEBOL
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 6
- Qualified Teams: 0
- 10 nations in CONCACAF members (round-robin)
OFC (Oceania Football Confederation)
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 1
- Qualified Teams: 0
- First round: 4 OFC teams (FIFA Ranking(4 lowest FIFA-ranked teams and play round-robin)
- Second round: 7 highest-ranked teams
- Third round: The 4 OFC teams ( inter-confederation play-offs)
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 16
- Qualified Teams: 0
- First-round: 12 groups of 4 or 5 teams
- Second round: The 16-group runner-up (National League overall ranking)
Inter-confederation play-offs
- 6 nations
Top goalscorers
- Almoez Ali – Qatar – 12 goals
- Son Heung-min – South Korea – 10 goals
- Ayase Ueda – Japan – 8 goals
- Yazan Al-Naimat – Jordan – 8 goals
- 7 Goals
- Sardar Azmoun – Iran
- Mehdi Taremi – Iran
- Aymen Hussein – Iraq
- Fábio Lima – United Arab Emirates
- 6 Goals
- Lionel Messi – Argentina
- Kusini Yengi – Australia
- Kōki Ogawa – Japan
- Musa Al-Taamari – Jordan
- Ali Olwan – Jordan
- Joel Kojo – Kyrgyzstan
- Chris Wood – New Zealand
