FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers are now underway as nations vie for a place at the biggest Soccer World Cup ever. The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest tournaments for members of the Six Nations confederations worldwide. All FIFA-associated teams qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will join hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In this tournament, 48 teams would play, and qualification began on 7 September 2023. Here is the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers list from UEFA, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFA, CAF, and AFC.
The FIFA executive committee allowed the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification process on 9 May 2017 in Zürich. Before the tournament, all 210 remaining FIFA member associations are eligible to enter the qualifying process. Canada, Mexico, and the United States are the host nations, so they will qualify automatically.
- 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
- FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualified Teams– USA, Mexico and Canada
- Total Qualifying Teams: 206
- Teams eliminated – 68
- Teams Qualified – 13 (Updated: 06 June 2025)
- Dates: from 7 September 2023 to 31 March 2026
Format for the qualification process
All you need to know about the FIFA World Cup 26 Format for the qualification process. Here is all about the qualifying process for the expanded 48-team tournament.
- Each confederation is responsible for its qualification tournament
- League format
- Single round-robin format
- Knockout format
- One of the participating nations or in neutral territory
- Single-leg knockout format
2026 FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers
Confederation qualification of FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers below –
- Qualifying campaigns are currently in progress, having commenced in September 2023.
- Expanded 48-Nation will participate in the tournament
AFC
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 8 direct slots (+1 for intercontinental playoffs)
- First round – 20 teams (ranked 27–46) – Round Completed
- Second round – 36 Teams (round-robin ) – Round Completed
- Third round – 18 Teams (round-robin) – Matchday 6 Round Completed
- Fourth round – 6 Teams – from 8 October 2025 to 14 October 2025
- Fifth round – inter-confederation play-offs – from 13 November to 18 November 2025
- Teams started – 46
- Teams eliminated – 34
- Qualified Teams – 6 ( Australia, Japan, Iran, Jordan, Uzbekistan and South Korea)
- Next Qualifying Match – Started from 8 October 2025
CAF
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 9 direct slots (+1 for intercontinental playoffs)
- First round – 9 groups of 6 teams (round-robin)
- Second round – 4 best-ranked group runners-up (inter-confederation play-offs)
- Teams started – 53
- Teams eliminated – 4
- Qualified Teams – 0
- Next Qualifying Match – Starts from September 2025
CONCACAF
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 6 direct slots
- Host Teams: 3 (Canada, Mexico, USA (3))
- First round – 4 teams (FIFA ranked 29 to 32)
- Second round – 30 Teams (CONCACAF teams ranked 1 to 28)
- Third round – 12 Teams (inter-confederation play-offs)
- Teams started – 32 + 3 (Host)
- Teams eliminated -20
- Qualified Teams – 0 + 3 host (Canada, Mexico, USA) = 3
- Next Qualifying Match – Starts from September 2025
CONMEBOL
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 6 direct slots (+1 for intercontinental playoffs)
- Qualified Teams: 3
- 10 nations in CONCACAF (round-robin)
- Teams started – 10
- Teams eliminated – 1
- Qualified Teams: 3 (Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador)
- Next Qualifying Match – September 2025
OFC (Oceania Football Confederation)
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 1 direct slot (+1 for intercontinental playoffs)
- Qualified Teams: 0
- First round: 4 OFC teams (FIFA Ranking(4 lowest FIFA-ranked teams and play round-robin)
- Second round: 7 highest-ranked teams
- Third round: The 4 OFC teams ( inter-confederation play-offs)
- Teams started – 11
- Teams eliminated – 9
- Qualified Teams – 1 (New Zealand)
- Next Qualifying Match – Completed (Play-offs – March 2026)
UEFA (Union of European Football Associations
- Total FIFA World Cup 26 Seats: 16 direct slots
- Qualified Teams: 0
- First round: 12 groups of 4 or 5 teams
- Second round: The 16-group runner-up (National League overall ranking)
- Teams started – 54
- Teams eliminated – 0
- Qualified Teams – 0
- Next Qualifying Match – Started from 4 September 2025
Inter-confederation play-offs
- Six nations will compete in a mini-tournament
- Qualifying Match – March 2026
2026 FIFA World Cup Qualified Teams
| S No | Teams | Previous Best | Qualified As |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | Group stage (1986, 2022) | Host |
| 2 | Canada | Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) | Host |
| 3 | Mexico | Third place (1930) | Host |
| 4 | Japan | Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018, 2022) | AFC 3rd round – Group C winners |
| 5 | New Zealand | Group stage (1982, 2010) | OFC 3rd round winners |
| 6 | Iran | Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022) | AFC 3rd round – Group A winners |
| 7 | Argentina | Winners (1978, 1986, 2022) | CONMEBOL top six |
| 8 | Jordan | Debut | AFC 3rd round – Group A runners-up |
| 9 | Uzbekistan | Debut | AFC 3rd round– Group A runners-up |
| 10 | South Korea | Fourth place (2002) | AFC 3rd round– Group B winners |
| 11 | Australia | Round of 16 (2006, 2022) | AFC 3rd round– Group C runners-up |
| 12 | Brazil | Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) | CONMEBOL top six |
| 13 | Ecuador | Round of 16 (2006) | CONMEBOL top six |
A total of 206 teams from the 6 confederations started the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers tournaments match from 7 September 2023. After completing the 580 matches, 13 teams have qualified for the final round.
Top goalscorers
- 12 goals
- Almoez Ali – Qatar
- 10 goals
- Son Heung-min – South Korea
- Mehdi Taremi – Iran
- 9 goals
- Ali Olwan – Jordan
- Chris Wood – New Zealand
- 8 goals
- Sardar Azmoun – Iran
- Aymen Hussein – Iraq
- Yazan Al-Naimat – Jordan
- Fábio Lima – United Arab Emirates
- Ayase Ueda – Japan
- 7 Goals
- Musa Al-Taamari – Jordan
- Luis Díaz – Colombia
- 6 Goals
- Lionel Messi – Argentina
- Kusini Yengi – Australia
- Kōki Ogawa – Japan
- Joel Kojo – Kyrgyzstan
- Mohammad Mohebi – Iran
- Mohamed Salah – Egypt
- Harib Abdalla – UAE