The two-year qualifying process for the 2026 World Cup is nearly done, with multiple nations booking their spots in next summer’s tournament in recent days.
The most recent qualifiers have mostly come from Africa, which concluded the main phase of the region’s qualifying process on Tuesday. There are some familiar powers among the teams to qualify from the continent thus far in October, including Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa. However, tiny Cape Verde — with a population under 600,000 — is also on the list, having stunned Cameroon to claim the top spot in Group D in the Confederation of African Football’s qualifying process.
Tuesday saw Qatar become the 24th country to claim one of the 48 available World Cup berths, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States set to host a newly-expanded format next year. England, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and South Africa followed shortly thereafter, taking the total number of claimed spots up to 28. Portugal could have made it 29, but conceded a stoppage-time equalizer against Hungary in a UEFA qualifier on Tuesday, leaving them stuck on the brink.
There are also pivotal matches in Concacaf (the region comprising North and Central America, along with the Caribbean) and elsewhere in Europe, with some teams having to endure a tense wait for the next round of qualifying in November to discover their fate.
Here’s what to know about where qualifying stands for the 2026 World Cup, including who could secure their berth next:
Who has qualified for World Cup 2026?
The 2026 World Cup will include 48 teams, a huge jump up from the 32 that participated in Qatar 2022. As October’s qualifiers play out, 28 nations have qualified.
Here is a complete list of every country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as of the afternoon of Tuesday, Oct. 14:
- Host nations: Canada, Mexico, United States
- Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
- Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
- Concacaf: None yet
- Europe: England
- Oceania: New Zealand
- South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
World Cup qualifying: Who could clinch a 2026 spot next?
There aren’t that many rounds of World Cup qualifying left to get through, though each confederation’s schedule and process mean each continent will wrap up at different points.
At the moment, there are eight teams (mostly hailing from Europe) that could claim a place at the 2026 World Cup with the right results in the coming days:
- Austria: After missing out on six straight men’s World Cups, Austria could clinch a berth next month. A win on Nov. 15 at Cyprus combined with Bosnia and Herzegovina failing to defeat Romania would mean party time in Vienna.
- Croatia: The Faroe Islands’ shock win over the Czech Republic on Sunday means that Croatia needs just one more point to win Group L and qualify for an eighth straight World Cup. The Croats host the Faroese on Nov. 14 in Rijeka.
- France: ‘Les Bleus’ nearly won UEFA’s Group D after just four rounds of games, but will have to wait until November for a shot at finishing the job. France hosts second-place Ukraine in Paris on Nov. 13, and a win would guarantee the hosts a spot at the World Cup.
- Honduras: ‘Los Catrachos’ have a path to clinch in the next round of play in Concacaf’s Group C. A win at Nicaragua on Nov. 13 combined with a draw between Haiti and Costa Rica in a game played earlier that same day would give Honduras entry into their fourth World Cup ever.
- Netherlands: The Dutch control their own destiny in UEFA’s Group G. A win on Nov. 14 at Poland would clinch a place at next summer’s tournament for the ‘Oranje.’
- Norway: The Norwegians have been a surprise in Group I, with Erling Haaland and Co. close to mathematical certainty of a World Cup spot. If Norway’s result against Estonia on Nov. 13 is superior to what Italy can do against Moldova, the job will be done.
- Portugal: Dominik Szoboszlai’s stoppage-time equalizer for Hungary left Portugal frustrated, but they’re still highly likely to qualify. A road win on Nov. 13 over the Republic of Ireland would clinch their berth, as would Hungary failing to defeat Armenia earlier that same day.
- Switzerland: The Swiss will head into the November window with a chance at clinching in UEFA’s Group B. All they need to do is pick up a better result than Kosovo on Nov. 15. A Swiss win plus Kosovo draw, or Swiss draw and Kosovo loss, will settle the issue.
World Cup qualifiers: How many spots for each region?
Here is a complete breakdown of how FIFA divided all 48 berths at the 2026 World Cup:
- Host nations (3): Canada, Mexico and the United States all qualified as soon as they were picked to host the tournament.
- Asia (8): Six Asian countries have qualified. The Asian Football Confederation’s fourth round (which will settle who claims the final two automatic bids) will conclude on Tuesday.
- Africa (9): African qualifying sorted 54 countries into nine groups of six (though Eritrea withdrew from Group E before play began). The nine group winners have qualified, while the four best runners-up — Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon, and Nigeria — will convene for a dramatic playoff in Morocco in November. The winner of that event will enter the intercontinental playoff.
- Concacaf (3): The region’s third round — featuring three groups of four — began on Thursday, Sept. 4. Group winners qualify directly, while the two best runners-up will enter the intercontinental playoff.
- Europe (16): UEFA qualifying features 54 teams broken up into 12 groups. Group winners qualify for the World Cup, while the second-place finishers (along with the top four teams from the UEFA Nations League who didn’t win their qualifying groups) will enter a playoff for Europe’s final four berths that is set for March 2026.
- Oceania (1): New Zealand has already claimed Oceania’s only guaranteed berth at the 2026 World Cup, while New Caledonia is headed to the intercontinental playoff.
- South America (6): CONMEBOL’s marathon qualifying tournament has concluded, with six teams getting places at the World Cup. A seventh (Bolivia) claimed the region’s spot in the intercontinental playoff.
- Intercontinental playoff (2): New Caledonia and Bolivia have locked in spots in what will be a six-team tournament scheduled for March 2026.
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