Ready for the world’s biggest sporting event? The countdown is on for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Spread across the countries (Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.), 48 teams will take part in the largest edition of the tournament ever next summer.
The qualifying process picks back up in November. Which teams are already in and which ones are close to booking their spot?
When is the World Cup?
The World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The FOX family of networks and the FOX Sports app are your complete home for World Cup content, including live matches, complete highlights, commentary and analysis, and full-match replays.
What we know:
Who is in (alphabetical order, total World Cup appearances):
These teams are in! Who else will join? Listed in alphabetical order:
What to Expect in November From Across the Globe:
Asia (AFC) — The six spots are wrapped up with Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and South Korea. Now it’s about which team will book the playoff spot – UAE or Iraq. Those two teams play each other twice to see who’ll advance.
South America (CONMEBOL) — The qualifying rounds are done. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay have booked direct spots. Bolivia secured an intercontinental playoff spot. Chile, Peru, and Venezuela were eliminated.
Europe (UEFA) — England became the first team to book a spot. Other top teams like Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal are on the cusp of qualifying and should do so during their November matches.
North America/Central America/Caribbean (CONCACAF) — Aside from the three co-hosts, no one from this region has booked their spot yet. There are 12 teams (split into three groups) playing through November. The three group winners will head directly to the World Cup. Look for teams like Costa Rica, Jamaica, and Honduras to be among the contenders.
Africa (CAF) — Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia have already clinched their spots. But four teams (Gabon, DR Congo, Cameroon, and Nigeria) will play an additional round in November to see who’ll grab the intercontinental playoff spot.
Oceania (OFA) — This is also done and dusted, with New Zealand already in and having this confederation’s only direct spot. The tiny island of New Caledonia, officially a French overseas territory, still has a shot as a participant in the intercontinental playoff.
The intercontinental playoffs, explained:
Ahead of the World Cup, two spots will be clinched in the playoffs that will take place in March 2026. Six teams will participate, with Europe (UEFA) being excluded from this round:
The two teams with the highest FIFA rankings will get byes to the two separate finals. The other four teams will face each other to reach those finalists. The two teams to emerge from this playoff round will go to the World Cup.
Region-by-region breakdown:
AFC (Asia)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?
8 automatically, 1 enters the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
Australia, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan, Qatar
Who remains in contention?
Iraq, United Arab Emirates
What’s next in November?
The qualifying tournament in Asia started back in October 2023 with 46 teams participating. After three rounds of qualifying, six teams have booked World Cup spots, with two more direct spots up (and one playoff berth) up for grabs. Round 4 consisted of six teams (the third- and fourth-placed teams from Round 3), and split into two groups. Those group winners – Qatar and Saudia Arabia – advanced to the World Cup.
The Round 4 runners-up play (Iraq and the United Arab Emirates) each other in Round 5 in November with the winner then heading to the intercontinental playoff in March 2026. They’ll play each other on Nov. 13 and Nov. 18 to see who’ll secure that spot.
_____
CAF (Africa)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?
9 automatically, 1 enters the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Who remains in contention?
Cameroon, Congo DR, Gabon, Nigeria
What’s next in November?
In all, 54 teams (which was reduced to 52) were split into nine groups of six teams each. The nine group winners advanced directly to the World Cup, and the four best second-place teams will enter a playoff round in November (two semifinals and a final). Full final standings can be found here.
In November, the playoff semifinals will be:
Gabon vs. Nigeria (Nov. 13)
Congo DR vs. Cameroon (Nov. 13)
The winners will then face off on Nov. 18 in order to advance to the intercontinental playoff round in March 2026.
_____
CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?
6 automatically (3 co-hosts, 3 through qualifying), 2 enter the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
Canada, Mexico, United States
What’s next in November?
The three co-hosts are in, leaving three more automatic spots for the region. There are also two spots for the intercontinental playoff to be determined. Initially, 32 teams began the process, with 30 teams – six groups of five teams – advancing into the second round of qualification, which concluded in June. The top two teams from each group advanced to Round 3.
Round 3 began in September with three groups of four teams, and will conclude in November. The group winners move onto the World Cup, and the two best runners-up get intercontinental playoff spots. Full standings can be found here.
_____
CONMEBOL (South America)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?
6 automatically, 1 enters the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Bolivia (intercontinental playoff)
How did things finish?
Six teams from the 10-team region have clinched, with Argentina, Brazil, and Ecuador moving onto the World Cup. Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia also booked their spots. Bolivia will be heading to the intercontinental playoff. Venezuela, Chile and Peru are officially eliminated.
Full final standings can be found here.
_____
OFC (Oceania)
How many World Cup teams have qualified?
1 automatically, 1 enters the intercontinental playoff round
Who is in?
New Zealand, New Caledonia (intercontinental playoff)
How did it finish?
The 11-team qualifying tournament from this region, consisting of countries and territories in the South Pacific, concluded in March. One team emerged from Round 1, joining the seven top-ranked teams of the region. Those eight teams were split into two groups for Round 2, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the semifinals. Full final standings can be found here.
Semifinals, March 21
New Caledonia 3, Tahiti 0
New Zealand 7, Fiji 0
Final, March 24
New Zealand 3, New Caledonia 0
New Zealand will head to the World Cup, while New Caledonia will be one of the six teams in the intercontinental playoff in March 2026.
_____
UEFA (Europe)
How many World Cup teams can qualify?
16 (12 automatically, 4 through a UEFA-only playoff)
Who is in?
England
What’s next in November?
There are 54 (excluding Russia) teams who began the qualifying process in March. In all, there are 12 groups of either four or five teams each. The winner of each group will clinch World Cup spots.
The 12 runners-up move to a subsequent playoff round, added by the four best-ranked Nations League group winners that did not finish their World Cup qualifying group in first or second place. These 16 teams will then be bracketed to clinch the remaining four World Cup spots in March 2026.
England was the only team to clinch so far, while teams like Portugal, Spain, and France will now wait until November matches.
European teams cannot reach the World Cup via the intercontinental playoff. Full current standings can be found here.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
