2026 FIFA World Cup Teams

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature 48 teams, with 42 already qualified and the remaining 6 spots to be contested in the qualifying rounds by teams from six continents. Participating teams come from Asia, Africa, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania.

After the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification, 48 teams will qualify for the Final round of the World Cup tournament. In the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group Stage, all the qualified teams will be divided into 12 groups. All 48 nations will be prepared for the World’s biggest sports event from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Here you can find the 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams List. 

The 23rd FIFA World Cup will mark the first time the tournament is hosted in North America, with Canada, Mexico, and the United States sharing the honour, making it the first edition to be held across three nations.

The United States is also gearing up to host the world’s top Football Clubs world Cup just before the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. The 2025 Club World Cup will be held in the United States from June 14 to July 13, 2025, with 32 teams participating, and the tournament format will be similar to the World Cup. In this format, Chelsea won the final match against PSG.

Canada, Mexico, and the United States automatically qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage matches as host nations. Each co-host team is placed in a different group, with Mexico in Group A, Canada in Group B, and the United States in Group D.

Japan was the first team from Asia, Argentina from CONMEBOL and New Zealand from OFC, England from Europe and Morocco from Africa have qualified for the World Cup 2026 Schedule list, and the remaining teams have finalised after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification Process.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup dates for the group stage matches and knockout stage have been released for the participating teams in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

For the first time in soccer history, the 2026 World Cup will feature 48 teams, an expansion of 16 compared to the previous seven World Cups since 1998.

The matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be held in 16 stadiums across 16 host cities in North America.

2026 FIFA World Cup Teams

• AFC (Asia): 8 direct spots and 1 inter-confederation play-off place
• CAF (Africa): 9 direct spots and 1 inter-confederation play-off place
• CONCACAF (North, Central America, and the Caribbean): 6 direct spots and 2 inter-confederation playoff places
• CONMEBOL (South America): 6 direct spots and one inter-confederation play-off place
• OFC (Oceania): 1 direct spot and 1 inter-confederation play-off place
• UEFA (Europe): 16 Teams
• Hosts: 3 (Canada, Mexico, and the United States). The 3 host countries will automatically qualify for the tournament.

The qualified teams for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are organised into a group stage format, consisting of 12 groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group advance to the tournament’s knockout stage. FIFA 2026 World Cup draw set to be held in Las Vegas on December 5, 2025, at the Kennedy Center.

As part of the World Cup qualification process, 883 matches have already been played in the November 2025 qualification round. The remaining teams are battling for the last few slots in the November window, as well as the final tournament slot, with contenders from all six FIFA confederations in the 2026 Play-off round. Below is the list of teams qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Portugal secured the 31st spot, while Curaçao became the 42nd and most recent team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Out of 206 participating nations, 145 have already been eliminated from the World Cup.

Here is the FIFA World Cup 2026 48 teams list with previous performance –

Last match played on 18 November 2025, and Next Qualifiers – Upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match Fixtures

UEFA (Europa): 16 Teams

• Total Teams – 54
• Teams Qualified – 7
  • England, France, Croatia, Portugal, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands
• Teams Eliminated – 26
• Qualifying Start Date – 21 March 2025
• Qualifying End Date – 31 March 2026

CONCACAF (North, Central America, and the Caribbean Confederation):  6 Teams + 2 spots

• Total Teams – 32
• Teams Qualified – 06
  • Canada, Mexico and the United States (As a host qualified in the list of 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams)
  • Panama, Haiti, and Curaçao (after qualification)
• Teams Eliminated – 27
• Qualifying Start Date – 22 March 2024
  • Three Rounds (First round and Second round Completed)
• Qualifying End Date – November 2025

CONEMBOL (South America): 6 Teams + 1 spot

• Total Teams– 10
• Teams Qualified
  • 6 (Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay)
• Teams Eliminated – 3
• Qualifying Start Date – 7 September 2023
• Qualifying End Date – September 2025

AFC (Asian Football Confederation): 8 teams +1 spot

• Total Teams– 46
• Teams Qualified
  • 8 (Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Australia, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia)
• Teams Eliminated – 36
• Qualifying Start Date – 12 October 2023
  • Four Rounds (First, Second, Third rounds, AFC Fourth Round, and AFC Fifth Round Completed)
• Qualifying End Date – 18 November 2025

CAF (Africa ): 9 Teams + 1 spot

• Total Teams– 53
• Teams Qualified – 9
  • Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Senegal
• Teams Eliminated – 42
• Qualifying Start Date – 15 November 2023
• Qualifying End Date – 13 November 2025

OFC (Oceanian Section): 1 Team + 1 spot

• Total Teams– 11
• Teams Qualified
  • 1 (New Zealand)
• Teams Eliminated – 9
• Qualifying Start Date – 6 September 2024
• Qualifying End Date – 24 March 2025

How many teams will qualify from each continent?

Asia (8), Africa (9), Europe (16), South America (6), North America (6), Oceania (1), and one play-off slot are the continents participating in qualification matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup teams.

Qualified Teams by confederation

Pots confirmed for the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw

• Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany (three host nations and nine top-seeded)
• Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
• Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, South Africa
• Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, European playoff winners A, B, C and D, Intercontinental playoff winners 1 and 2

Team-based camps

FIFA have launched many team-based camps. Here is the List of the Team Base Camps for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

Tournament Format Details

• Draw – 12 groups of 4 teams.
• The top two teams from each group, plus the 8 best third-placed teams, will qualify for the Round of 32.
• Total of 104 matches (compared to 64 in 2022)

Notable Teams to Watch

Here are the top teams that will be qualified or have qualified for the 2026 World Cup –

• Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain, Croatia, Portugal, Germany, and England are considered the top football teams.
• A few teams have surprised, like Uzbekistan, Jordan and Cape Verde.

How many teams will play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

For the first time in World Cup history, 48 teams will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Which teams have qualified for the World Cup 2026?

So far, the USA, Mexico, and Canada have qualified as co-hosts, and 39 teams have qualified after the qualification process. Curaçao secured its spot as the 42nd and most recent team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Who are the host countries of the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Canada, Mexico, and the United States will combine to host 104 games of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

What is the FIFA World cup 2026 start date?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will start on June 11, 2026, with the opening match of the group Stage in Mexico City. The tournament will run until July 19, 2026, across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.