2026 World Cup: How nations from around the world can qualify

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.

Most 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.

However, over the next week we will find out our very first qualifiers.

Here’s where we’re at around the globe.

Qualifying finally gets started on March 21 when most of the European teams who are not in UEFA Nations League (UNL) action play their first matches.

There are 55 European nations, although 54 will compete as Russia remain suspended due to the invasion of Ukraine.

There will be 12 groups of four or five teams, playing home and away matches. The group stage qualifying process will be completed in November 2025.

The 12 group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, with the 12 runners-up entering the playoff system.

Eight groups will not be fully decided until this week’s UEFA Nations League quarterfinals are completed on Sunday.

– 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 intercontinental 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 records
Pot 2: As above, teams fifth to eighth
Pot 3: As above, teams ninth to 12th
Pot 4: UEFA Nations League teams

Semifinals:
Pot 1 vs. Pot 4
Pot 2 vs. Pot 3

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 intercontinental playoffs in March 2026.

The first qualifiers took place in September 2023, with the league phase to be completed in September 2025.

– Check out the fixtures and results | Latest table

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 intercontinental 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 play each other only once, rather than home and away. This stage will be played in two blocks, with the first was held in June 2024 with the second to come in June 2025.

The six group winners and six group runners-up will move on to Round 3.

– Check out the latest fixtures and results here | Latest tables

Round 3: The 12 remaining teams will be drawn into three groups of four teams. 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 intercontinental 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 in October 2025.

The race to the World Cup is starting to take shape with qualifying at the halfway stage.

– 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 intercontinental playoffs. This stage will be played in November 2025.

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.

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, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan

Round 3: We’re now left with 18 nations, who have been drawn into three groups of six teams. Matches began in September 2024 and will run through to June 2025.

The group winners and runners-up will take the first six places at the 2026 World Cup and their campaign is complete.

Japan are set to become the first team to qualify for the World Cup when they next play on Thursday.

The six nations who finish in third and fourth move on to Round 4.

– Check out the latest fixtures and results here | Latest tables

Round 4: The six teams in this stage will be drawn into two groups of three. They will play each other once, so two matches, on neutral ground in October 2025.

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 intercontinental playoffs.

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: Four countries remain, and will play a one-legged knockout format (two semis and a final) in New Zealand in March 2025.

Semifinals, March 21
New Caledonia vs. Tahiti
New Zealand vs. Fiji

The winners of the final on Monday, March 24 qualify for the World Cup, with the losers moving onto the intercontinental playoff.

Intercontinental 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 Africa
1 Asia
2 Concacaf
1 Oceania
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.