2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification is the qualifying process for the FIFA World Cup 26 in joining hosts Canada, Mexico, and the US. It is the process that will define which teams are playing in the FIFA World Cup 26. The next edition of the FIFA World Cup is going to be held with 48 teams for the 1st time in Soccer history,.You all going to witness these nations playing for the golden trophy.

The 23rd edition of the World Cup but the first to feature 48 teams and three host countries: Canada, Mexico, and the USA.

All pots were created based on the national team’s October 2017 FIFA World Ranking, with the highest-ranked teams in Pot 1, the next highest-ranked teams in Pot 2, and so on. List of all 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification round matches.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification list is the qualifying process that will decide the national teams that will join hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Teams

Table of Contents

2026 FIFA World Cup qualification CONMEBOL Teams Fixtures and Result

The list of qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 26 is below.

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

Confederation qualification

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process includes in-depth qualification guides and the latest data.

S. No	Teams	Qualify Date	Method of qualification
1	Canada	Feb 14, 2023	Hosts
2	Mexico	Feb 14, 2023	Hosts
3	United States	Feb 14, 2023	Hosts
4	Japan	Mar 20, 2025	AFC 3rd-round Winners – Group C
5	New Zealand	Mar 24, 2025	OFC 3rd round winners
6	Iran	Mar 25, 2025	AFC 3rd-round Winners – Group A
7	Argentina	Mar 25, 2025	CONMEBOL (South America) – Top 6

A full list of qualifiers for the 23rd FIFA World Cup can be found below.

Continent	Teams	Qualified
Asia	8	2
Africa	9	–
UEFA (EUROPE)	16	–
North America, Central America, and the Caribbean	3 host + 3	3 host
South America	6	1
Oceania	1	1
Play Off	2	–
Total	48	7

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is European football’s administrative and controlling body. The Football Association has 55 members part of this association and all represent their respective countries. Here is the list of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification teams below

Confederation	Available slots in finals	Teams started	Qualifying start date	Qualifying end date
AFC	8	46	12 October 23	November 25
CAF	9	53	15 November 23	November 25
CONCACAF	6	34	March 2024	November 2025
CONMEBOL	6	10	7 September 23	September 2025
OFC	1	11	September 2024	March 2025
UEFA	16	55	March 2025	March 2026
Play Off	2	6	March 2026	March 2026

The FIFA World Cup is the largest and most prestigious sporting event in the world. 16 groups of 3 teams and 80 matches in total were played in the 16 Venues (16 host cities) in World Cup 2026.

AFC (Asian Football Confederation)

AFC Format

First round: 20 teams of FIFA AFC ranked from 27th to 46th played home and away matches. Out of the 20 teams, 10 have qualified for the next round.
Second round: 36 teams of FIFA AFC ranked from 1 to 26 played (10 teams from first round) home and away matches. All the teams are divided into 9 groups of 4 teams. Out of the 36 teams, 18 have qualified for the next round, including both the winner and the runner-up.
Third round: 18 qualified teams are divided into 3 groups of 6 teams and play home and away matches. Out of the 18 teams, 6 have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group, and the remaining will qualify for the fourth round.
Fourth round: Teams that finish in third and fourth place in the points table from the third round will qualify for this round. All six teams are divided into two groups, and the winner of each group will advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Fifth round: Fourth round group runner-up teams from groups A and B will qualify for this round. The fifth-round winner will join inter-confederation playoffs.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification first round
Team 1	Aggregate score from 2 lags	Team 2
Afghanistan	2–0	Mongolia
Maldives	2–3	Bangladesh
Singapore	3–1	Guam
Yemen	4–1	Sri Lanka
Myanmar	5–1	Macau
Cambodia	0–1	Pakistan
Chinese Taipei	7–0	Timor-Leste
Indonesia	12–0	Brunei
Hong Kong	4–2	Bhutan
Nepal	2–1	Laos

AFC (Asian Football Confederation) Point Table

Group A
POS	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Qatar	6	16
2	Kuwait	6	7
3	India	6	5
4	Afghanistan	6	5

Group B
POS	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Japan	6	18
2	North Korea	6	9
3	Syria	6	7
4	Myanmar	6	1

Group C
POS	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	South Korea	6	16
2	China	6	8
3	Thailand	6	8
4	Singapore	6	1

Group D
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Oman	6	13
2	Kyrgyzstan	6	11
3	Malaysia	6	10
4	Chinese Taipei	6	0

Group E
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Iran	6	14
2	Uzbekistan	6	14
3	Turkmenistan	6	2
4	Hong Kong	6	2

Group F
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Iraq	6	18
2	Indonesia	6	10
3	Vietnam	6	6
4	Philippines	6	1

Group G
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Jordan	6	13
2	Saudi Arabia	6	13
3	Tajikistan	6	8
4	Pakistan	6	0

Group H
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	U A E	6	16
2	Bahrain	6	11
3	Yemen	6	5
4	Nepal	6	1

Group I
POS	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Australia	6	18
2	Palestine	6	8
3	Lebanon	6	6
4	Bangladesh	6	1

AFC third round

Group A

Pos	Teams	Pld	Win	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Iran	8	6	2	0	16	7	+9	20
2	Uzbekistan	8	5	2	1	11	7	+4	17
3	UAE	8	4	1	3	14	7	+7	13
4	Qatar	8	3	1	4	16	21	−5	10
5	Kyrgyzstan	8	2	0	6	9	15	−6	6
6	North Korea	8	0	2	6	7	16	−9	2

Group B

Pos	Teams	Pld	Win	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	South Korea	8	4	4	0	14	7	+7	16
2	Jordan	8	3	4	1	13	7	+6	13
3	Iraq	8	3	3	2	8	7	+1	12
4	Oman	8	3	1	4	8	10	−2	10
5	Palestine	8	1	3	4	7	12	−5	6
6	Kuwait	8	0	5	3	7	14	−7	5

Group C

Pos	Teams	Pld	Win	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Japan	8	6	2	0	24	2	+22	20
2	Australia	8	3	4	1	13	6	+7	13
3	Saudi Arabia	8	2	4	2	4	6	−2	10
4	Indonesia	8	2	3	3	8	14	−6	9
5	Bahrain	8	1	3	4	5	13	−8	6
6	China	8	2	0	6	6	19	−13	6

What is the next match date of the asian qualifiers match?

5 June 2025

CAF (Confederation of African Football)

CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Teams and Schedule

First round: 9 groups of 6 teams
Second round: The 4 first-round group winners will play in a two-legged home and away series. It will advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.
Third round: The three-round winners will join the top inter-confederation playoff teams.

CAF Point Table

First Round

9 groups of 6 teams will play Home and Away matches. Group winners will join the 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams.

GROUP A

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Egypt	6	5	1	0	14	2	+12	16
2	Burkina Faso	6	3	2	1	13	7	+6	11
3	Sierra Leone	6	2	2	2	7	7	0	8
4	Ethiopia	6	1	3	2	7	7	0	6
5	Guinea-Bissau	6	1	3	2	5	7	−2	6
6	Djibouti	6	0	1	5	4	20	−16	1

GROUP B

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	DR Congo	6	4	1	1	7	2	+5	13
2	Senegal	6	3	3	0	8	1	+7	12
3	Sudan	6	3	3	0	8	2	+6	12
4	Togo	6	0	4	2	4	7	−3	4
5	South Sudan	6	0	3	3	2	10	−8	3
6	Mauritania (Z)	6	0	2	4	2	9	−7	2

GROUP C

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	South Africa	6	4	1	1	10	5	+5	13
2	Rwanda	6	2	2	2	4	4	0	8
3	Benin	6	2	2	2	6	7	−1	8
4	Nigeria	6	1	4	1	7	6	+1	7
5	Lesotho	6	1	3	2	4	5	−1	6
6	Zimbabwe	6	0	4	2	5	9	−4	4

GROUP D

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Cape Verde	6	4	1	1	7	5	+2	13
2	Cameroon	6	3	3	0	12	4	+8	12
3	Libya	6	2	2	2	6	7	−1	8
4	Angola	6	1	4	1	4	4	0	7
5	Mauritius	6	1	2	3	6	10	−4	5
6	Eswatini	6	0	2	4	4	9	−5	2

GROUP E

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Morocco	5	5	0	14	2	+12	15
2	Niger	4	2	2	6	4	+2	6
3	Tanzania	4	2	2	2	4	−2	6
4	Zambia	4	1	3	6	7	−1	3
5	Congo	3	0	3	2	13	−11	0
6	Eritrea	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

GROUP F

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ivory Coast	6	5	1	0	14	0	+14	16
2	Gabon	6	5	0	1	12	6	+6	15
3	Burundi	6	3	1	2	13	7	+6	10
4	Kenya	6	1	3	2	11	8	+3	6
5	Gambia (Z)	6	1	1	4	12	13	−1	4
6	Seychelles (E)	6	0	0	6	2	30	−28	0

Google G

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Algeria	6	5	0	1	16	6	+10	15
2	Mozambique	6	4	0	2	10	11	−1	12
3	Botswana	6	3	0	3	9	8	+1	9
4	Uganda	6	3	0	3	6	7	−1	9
5	Guinea	6	2	1	3	4	5	−1	7
6	Somalia (Z)	6	0	1	5	3	11	−8	1

Group H

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Tunisia	6	5	1	0	9	0	+9	16
2	Namibia	6	3	3	0	8	2	+6	12
3	Liberia	6	3	1	2	7	4	+3	10
4	Equatorial Guinea	6	2	1	3	4	8	−4	7
5	Malawi	6	2	0	4	4	6	−2	6
6	São Tomé and Príncipe	6	0	0	6	2	14	−12	0

Group I

Pos	Teams	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Ghana	6	5	0	1	15	5	+10	15
2	Comoros	6	4	0	2	9	7	+2	12
3	Madagascar	6	3	1	2	9	6	+3	10
4	Mali	6	2	3	1	8	4	+4	9
5	Central African Republic	6	1	2	3	8	13	−5	5
6	Chad	6	0	0	6	1	15	−14	0

Ranking List of Runners-up

The top four teams will qualify for the Second round

Pos	Group	Teams	Pld	Win	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Group F	Gabon	6	5	0	1	12	6	+6	15
2	Group D	Cameroon	6	3	3	0	12	4	+8	12
3	Group B	Senegal	6	3	3	0	8	1	+7	12
4	Group H	Namibia	6	3	3	0	8	2	+6	12
5	Group I	Comoros	6	4	0	2	9	7	+2	12
6	Group G	Mozambique	6	4	0	2	10	11	−1	12
7	Group A	Burkina Faso	6	3	2	1	13	7	+6	11
8	Group C	Rwanda	6	2	2	2	4	4	0	8
9	Group E	Niger	4	2	0	2	6	4	+2	6

Second round

Winners will qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams, and the runner-up will qualify for the Inter-confederation playoffs.

Semifinals

November 2025
- Team 1 vs Team 2
November 2025
- Team 3 vs Team 4

Final

November 2025
- Winner of Semifinals 1 vs Winner of Semifinals 2

What is the next match date of the African qualifiers match?

The next match date of the African qualifiers match is September 2025.

CONCACAF (Central America and Caribbean Association Football)

Concacaf or Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,

Three nations in CONCACAF—Canada, Mexico, and the United States qualified for WC 2026 as host nations. CONCACAF 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers have started from 22 March 2024 to 18 November 2025.

First round: CONCACAF teams ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA ranking of November 23. 2 winners have qualified for the next round.
Second round: 30 teams and the 2 first-round group winners will play in a two-legged competition ranked 1 to 28 based on the FIFA rankings of November 2023, and play the next round. It is 6 groups of 5 teams. The three winners have qualified for the third round.
Third round: The 12 winning teams from round two will join the third round, and all teams are divided into 3 groups of four teams. After the Home and Away matches, all group winners will qualify for the FIFA World Cup. The two best-ranked runners-up will advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.

Qualified teams – USA, Mexico and Canada (host) and 3 CONCACAF teams are ready to qualify

What is the next match date of the CONCACAF qualifiers match?

The next match date of the CONCACAF qualifiers match is 4 June 2025.

CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation)

10 nations in CONCACAF play home-and-away round-robin matches. Here is are full Schedule of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification CONMEBOL.

Points Table Standing after Matchday 14

Pos	Teams	Pld	Pts
1	Argentina	14	31
2	Ecuador	14	23
3	Uruguay	14	21
4	Brazil	14	21
5	Paraguay	14	21
6	Colombia	14	20
7	Venezuela	14	15
8	Bolivia	14	14
9	Peru	14	10
10	Chile	14	10

What is the next match date of the CONMEBOL qualifiers match?

June 2025

OFC (Oceania Football Confederation)

Qualifying was expected to begin in September 2024.

First round: The 4 OFC teams would be split into two groups based on their FIFA Ranking(4 lowest FIFA-ranked teams), and play round-robin matches at a centralized location.

Second round: The 7 highest-ranked teams would play knockout two-legged home-and-away matches with the top 2 teams from each group.

Third round: The 4 OFC teams play known out-stage matches. The eventual winner would advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

Entrants

American Samoa	Samoa
Cook Islands	Solomon Islands
Fiji	Tahiti
New Caledonia	Tonga
New Zealand	Vanuatu
Papua New Guinea

OFC 2026 World Cup Qualification Fixtures and Results

Round	Matchday	Date
First round	Matchday 1	2–10 September 2024
First round	Matchday 2	2–10 September 2024
Second round	Matchday 1	7–15 October 2024
	Matchday 2	11–19 November 2024
	Matchday 3	11–19 November 2024
Third round	Semi-finals	March 2025
Third round	Final	March 2025

Round One

Cook Islands (186)	American Samoa (187)
Samoa (192)	Tonga (200)

Matchday 1

Cook Islands vs Tonga
- Final Score: 1-3

American Samoa vs Samoa
- Final Score: 0-2

Tonga vs Samoa
- Final Score: 1-2

Matchday 2

Tonga vs Samoa
- Final Score: 1-2

Second round

From the July 2024 FIFA World Rankings

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3
1. New Zealand (94) 2. Solomon Islands (141)	3. Fiji (153) 4. Tahiti (158) 5. New Caledonia (160) 6. Vanuatu (162)	7. Papua New Guinea (168 8. First round winner