The 2026 World Cup in USA, Mexico and Canada will, quite literally, be the biggest one yet.
Forty-eight teams will compete for football’s greatest prize next summer; an expansion from the 32-team format that has been in effect since 1998.
The tournament, which runs from 11 June to 19 July, will also be just the second time the men’s competition has been co-hosted – following Japan and South Korea in 2002 – and the first time three nations will share hosting duties.
With qualifying for the showpiece event in full swing, and the main draw set for 5 December, we are taking a look at the nations who have already booked their place at the finals next year.
How many places does each confederation get?
The three host nations qualify automatically, while the six other confederations of UEFA (Europe), CONMEBOL (South America), CONCACAF (North/Central America and Caribbean), AFC (Asia), OFC (Oceania) and CAF (Africa) stage their own qualifying campaigns and are given a set number of guaranteed slots.
UEFA (Europe) has been given 16 guaranteed places, with the 12 group winners progressing directly to the finals. The 12 runners-up and four further teams based on their Nations League ranking will enter four play-off paths, with each providing a further spot at the finals.
Nine spots are given to CAF (Africa), eight to AFC (Asia), and a minimum of six to both CONMEBOL (South America) and CONCACAF (North/Central America and Caribbean). In another first, OFC (Oceania) has been given one guaranteed slot for the finals.
The final two places will be decided via a six-team inter-confederation play-off tournament, made up of one team per confederation (excluding UEFA), plus one additional team from the confederation of the host countries.
Only one team from Europe has clinched qualification. No team from North/Central America or the Caribbean has qualified to join the three hosts at the tournament yet.
Who has already qualified?
The hosts
Courtesy of their status as host nations, the USA, Mexico and Canada have automatically booked their place at the finals next summer.
Conversations around geopolitics will undoubtedly dominate the headlines in the build-up but, on the pitch, the US team, boasting a squad littered with talented players plying their trade in Europe’s top leagues, will be hoping for a strong tournament.
However, results under former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino have been largely indifferent, though Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Australia, which followed a 1-1 draw with Ecuador, may improve the feeling around the team.
After a disappointing showing at last year’s Copa America, Mexico hit back with triumph in both the CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup this summer, beating fierce rivals USA in the final of the latter.
Javier Aguirre’s side, with former Barcelona player and national icon Rafael Marquez as assistant coach, saw a nine-match unbeaten run ended this month with a 4-0 loss to Colombia.
Meanwhile, Canada, who were touted by many as dark horses prior to their debut World Cup finals appearance in 2022 before crashing out without registering a single point, will be looking for an improved showing on home soil.
They drew with Colombia on Tuesday following defeat to Australia last week.
Africa
Morocco made history in 2022 by becoming the first-ever African nation to reach a men’s World Cup semi-final, where they eventually fell to France.
The Atlas Lions will be hoping to again go deep in the tournament after booking their place at the finals next year at a canter.
Tunisia reached the finals as they went unbeaten through qualifying without conceding a goal, while Egypt qualified last week with a 3-0 win over Djibouti.
They were joined by another North African side in Algeria, who will contest the finals for the first time since 2014 after sealing their place with a 3-0 defeat of Somalia last Thursday.
Ghana comfortably saw off Comoros to win their qualifying group and will be hoping to replicate their run to the quarter-finals in 2010.
There were joyous scenes in Praia as Cape Verde reached the finals for the first time in their history, beating Eswatini 3-0. South Africa, meanwhile, will appear at a World Cup for the first time since hosting in 2010.
Bafana Bafana denied Benin a first finals berth, defeating them 3-0 to win Group C ahead of Nigeria.
Ivory Coast sealed their spot with a 3-0 win against Kenya, with the Elephants set to return after missing out on the finals in 2018 and 2022. Senegal punched their ticket with a 4-0 win over Mauritania.
Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon join Nigeria in a four-team play-off, the winner of which will progress to the Inter-confederation play-offs.
Qualified:
Morocco
Tunisia
Egypt
Algeria
Ghana
Cape Verde
South Africa
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Asia
There will be a familiar contingent from Asia next summer in the form of Australia, Iran, Japan and South Korea, who have all appeared multiple times at the finals.
However, the 2026 finals will see debuts for Jordan and Uzbekistan, who have both been strong throughout qualifying.
Qatar, hosts in 2022, will be back for a repeat appearance after beating the UAE on Tuesday, while a 0-0 draw with Iraq was enough for Saudi Arabia to seal their spot.
Iraq and the UAE will face off in a play-off, with the winner going to the inter-confederation play-offs.
Qualified:
Australia
Iran
Japan
Jordan
South Korea
Uzbekistan
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Oceania
New Zealand nabbed the one Oceania guaranteed place having dominated their qualifying group, winning all three matches, scoring 19 and conceding just one on the process.
New Caledonia will progress to the inter-confederation play-off.
Qualified:
New Zealand
South America
Gone are the days when the world champions gain an automatic chance to defend their crown four years later. But that seemed to matter little to holders Argentina, who breezed into next year’s finals nine points clear at the top of the group.
While it remains to be seen whether 38-year-old Lionel Messi – who was top scorer in qualifying with eight goals – will play at what would a record-breaking sixth World Cup finals, one thing is for certain: Argentina will have a shot at becoming only the third nation, after Italy and Brazil, to successfully retain the trophy.
Brazil stuttered through qualifying in fifth but remain the only nation to have appeared at every World Cup finals.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side lost a third of their matches but with the likes of Raphinha, Vinicius Jr., and Estevao in their ranks, who would bet against them going far in the tournament next summer.
Elsewhere in South American qualifying, Ecuador turned a few heads by finishing second, while Colombia and Uruguay – the latter managed by Marcelo Bielsa – also reached the finals.
Paraguay will be making their first appearance since a quarter-final defeat to eventual winners Spain in 2010, and Bolivia, whose last World Cup finals experience came the last time the USA hosted in 1994, secured the confederation’s intercontinental play-off place.
Qualified:
Argentina
Brazil
Ecuador
Uruguay
Colombia
Paraguay
Europe
England became the first team from the UEFA section to qualify as a 5-0 demolition of Latvia made it eight wins from eight.
One win from their next two games will likely be enough for European champions Spain to join them, while the equation is essentially the same for Norway as they seek a first finals appearance since 1998, the Scandinavians boasting a vastly superior goal difference than Italy in Group I.
Beaten 2022 finalists France will qualify if they beat Ukraine next month, while Netherlands just need a win over Poland to clinch their place. Portugal will ensure Cristiano Ronaldo gets another shot at glory if they beat Ireland in Dublin.
Germany are in the box seat to qualify automatically from Group A but can ill-afford a slip-up in games with Luxembourg and Slovakia, while Belgium look certain to come through a tricky Group J. One win from two games will be enough for Group B leaders Switzerland, but Group C looks likely to come down to a winner-take-all clash between Scotland and Denmark at Hampden Park.
It could be the same situation in Group H, in which Austria hold a two-point lead over Bosnia Herzegovina, whom they face in their final qualifier in Vienna.
Qualified:
England
