FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers: Tracking which teams have qualified as South Africa, Qatar clinch

The 2026 FIFA men's World Cup is approaching next year, and qualifying is well underway with more than half of the spots now accounted for. There are now 48 teams after FIFA decided to expand from the old 32-team format that had been in place since the 1998 World Cup. The 2026 edition will take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, kicking off on June 11, 2026, at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, and will end on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New York City.

With the tournament's expansion, the European confederation (UEFA) is guaranteed 16 slots of the 48 teams, while the African confederation (CAF) has nine, and the Asian confederation (AFC) has eight. There will also be a minimum of six each from South America (CONMEBOL) and the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). On top of this, for the first time in history, the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) has one guaranteed slot, while the remaining two spots will be decided through intercontinental playoffs.

Three teams have already secured qualification to the first men's World Cup in their history. Uzbekistan, Jordan, and Cape Verde will all be at the World Cup for the first time, and more first-timers could join them as the dust settles. With a population of 524,877, Cape Verde became the second-smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup, behind only Iceland, which had a population of 350,000 when they qualified for the 2018 World Cup.

Let's take a look at who has already booked their tickets to the World Cup:

Already qualified for the 2026 World Cup

World Cup hosts

Since the 2026 World Cup is co-hosted by three nations, they all receive an automatic qualifying spot in the tournament. 

• United States
• Mexico
  
• Canada

AFC Qualifiers

• Iran
• Uzbekistan
• South Korea
• Jordan
• Australia
• Japan
  
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia

OFC Qualifier

• New Zealand

CONMEBOL Qualifiers

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Ecuador
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

CAF Qualifiers

• Morocco
• Egypt
• Tunisia
• Ghana
• Cape Verde
• Algeria
• South Africa
• Senegal
• Ivory Coast

UEFA qualifiers

• England

Chaos in UEFA

Teams such as England are starting to book their place in the World Cup, as the winners of each qualifying group will head directly to the tournament. But the second-placed team in each group will head to a playoff phase. Those 12 second-placed teams will be joined by the four best UEFA Nations League group winners. That means that teams such as Wales, Romania, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Moldova, and San Marino could have chances to be in the UEFA playoff even if they don't finish second in their groups.

That second round will see 16 teams drawn into four paths with two rounds of single-match playoffs that will lead to a final with the four overall path winners heading to the World Cup. Due to that process, no UEFA teams will take part in the inter-confederation playoff. These also won't conclude until March of 2026.

A tough route for Nigeria

CAF qualifying could also see some powerhouse teams struggle to make the World Cup. South Africa and Cape Verde winning their groups will send Nigeria and Cameroon into the playoff round. Each of the nine group winners will all head directly to the World Cup in spots that have been decided, but only the four best second-placed teams will advance to the second round, which will take place during the November international window. 

That round will see those four teams face each other in a playoff that will determine the CAF representative in the inter-confederation playoff. 

Teams qualified for CAF playoffs:

• DR Congo
• Burkina Faso
• Cameroon
• Nigeria 

Who makes the inter-confederation playoffs?

The final World Cup participants won't be determined until March of 2026, following the draw for the World Cup groups. A playoff will take place in North America in March, including one team each from the following regions: AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, alongside two from Concacaf to determine the final two places in the World Cup. 

The bottom four teams in the FIFA World Rankings will be drawn into two single-elimination matches, where the winner will advance to face the top two teams in the rankings, with the winners of those two matches qualifying for the World Cup. 

Currently in the inter-confederation playoffs

• OFC: New Caledonia
• CONMEBOL: Bolivia

When is the World Cup draw?

Paths to the World Cup final will be revealed on Dec. 5 in a ceremony taking place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. At that time, teams will know what groups they will be drawn into, and while the final teams will still need to be determined, placeholders will be used for their spots in the draw.