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

List of the qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 26 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	Method of qualification
1	Canada	Hosts
2	Mexico	Hosts
3	United States	Hosts

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

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

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is European football’s administrative and controlling body. This 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	54	15 November 23	18 November 25
CONCACAF	6	34	March 2024	November 2025
CONMEBOL	6	10	7 September 23	September 2025
OFC	1	7	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 biggest playing sport 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)

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
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Qatar	2	6
2	Kuwait	2	3
3	India	2	3
4	Afghanistan	2	0

Group B
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Japan	2	6
2	North Korea	2	3
3	Syria	2	3
4	Myanmar	2	0

Group C
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	South Korea	2	6
2	China	2	3
3	Thailand	2	3
4	Singapore	2	0

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

Group E
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Iran	2	6
2	Uzbekistan	2	3
3	Turkmenistan	2	3
4	Hong Kong	2	0

Group F
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Saudi Arabia	2	6
2	Jordan	2	3
3	Tajikistan	2	1
4	Pakistan	2	1

Group G
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Qatar	2	6
2	India	2	4
3	Kuwait	2	1
4	Afghanistan	2	0

Group H
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	U A E	2	6
2	Bahrain	2	3
3	Yemen	2	3
4	Nepal	2	0

Group I
POA	TEAMS	PLD	PTS
1	Australia	2	6
2	Palestine	2	2
3	Lebanon	2	1
4	Bangladesh	2	1

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 play-offs.
Third round: The three-round winners will join the top five CONCACAF teams.

CAF Point Table (first round)

GROUP A

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Egypt	4	10
2	Guinea-Bissau	4	6
3	Burkina Faso	4	5
4	Sierra Leone	4	5
5	Ethiopia	4	3
6	Djibouti	4	1

GROUP B

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Sudan	4	10
2	Senegal	4	8
3	DR Congo	4	7
4	Togo	4	3
5	South Sudan	4	2
6	Mauritania	4	1

GROUP C

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Rwanda	4	7
2	South Africa	4	7
3	Benin	4	7
4	Lesotho	4	5
5	Nigeria	4	3
6	Zimbabwe	4	2

GROUP D

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Algeria	4	9
2	Mozambique	4	9
3	Botswana	4	6
4	Guinea	4	6
5	Uganda	4	6
6	Somalia	4	0

GROUP E

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Tunisia	4	10
2	Namibia	4	8
3	Liberia	4	7
4	Malawi	4	6
5	Equatorial Guinea	4	3
6	São Tomé and Príncipe	4	0

GROUP F

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts
1	Comoros	4	9
2	Ghana	4	9
3	Madagascar	4	7
4	Mali	4	5
5	Central African Republic	4	4
6	Chad	4	2

Ranking List of runners-up

Ranking	Team	Played	Points
1	Gabon	4	9
2	Ghana	4	9
3	Mozambique	4	9
4	Namibia	4	8
5	Senegal	4	8
6	South Africa	4	7
7	Libya	4	7
8	Niger	3	6
9	Guinea-Bissau	4	6

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 a host nation.

First round: CONCACAF teams ranked 29 to 32 based on the FIFA ranking of November 23. 2 winners will be in 2nd Round.
Second round: 30 teams and the 2 first-round group winners will play in a two-legged ranked 1 to 28 based on the FIFA rankings of November 2023, play next round. It is 6 groups of 5 teams. Toal The three winners will advance to the final round
Third round: The three-second round winners will join the top 12 CONCACAF teams. It is 3 groups of 4 teams. The two best-ranked runners-up will advance to the inter-confederation play-offs.

CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation)

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

Pos	Teams	Pld	Pts
1	Argentina	6	15
2	Uruguay	6	13
3	Colombia	6	12
4	Venezuela	6	9
5	Ecuador	6	8
6	Brazil	6	7
7	Paraguay	6	5
8	Chile	6	5
9	Bolivia	6	3
10	Peru	6	2

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 two 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 Result

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

UEFA (Union of European Football Associations)

The qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Switzerland on 25 January 2023. The qualification will depend on all 12 groups being divided into 4 or 5 teams to play home-and-away round-robin matches.

First-round: 12 groups of 4 or 5 teams with group winners qualifying for the World Cup final.
Second round: The 16-group runner-up would be joined by the best 2 Nations League group winners, based on the National League overall ranking.

Inter-confederation play-offs

six teams will be held to decide the last two FIFA World Cup berths. 1 from per confederation except UEFA.

2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Top Goal Scorers

There have been more than 91 goals have been scored in the 40 total matches, with an average of 2.27 goal scorers in each match. Here is the list of top Goal scorers from the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying team schedule.