Qualifying for the FIFA 2026 World Cup is drawing to a close, with countries hoping to reach the finals in North America.
For the first time in history, three countries – the USA, Canada and Mexico – are hosting the tournament, which has been somewhat controversially expanded.
England are very close to booking their place, with Thomas Tuchel hoping to end 60 years of hurt and bring football home.
With the all-important draw coming up soon, find out which teams have qualified for next summer’s World Cup:
Which teams have qualified so far?
Get personalised football updates every day
Sign up to our daily football newsletter and choose your team to get the latest news, rumours and more about your favourite team.
To date, 21 countries have booked their place at the 2026 World Cup, with Japan the first nation to qualify outside of the three co-hosts.
CONMEBOL qualifying has wrapped up with reigning champions Argentina cruising to the top of the table, while Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil are among the tournament favourites.
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt return to the finals after missing out in 2022, while England can become one of the first European teams to qualify when they play Latvia on Tuesday.
Two teams will make their World Cup debuts in 2026, namely Uzbekistan and Jordan who finished runner-up in their AFC qualifying groups.
2026 World Cup teams
Asia:
- Australia
- Iran
- Japan
- Jordan
- South Korea
- Uzbekistan
Africa:
- Algeria
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Morocco
- Tunisia
North and Central America:
- Canada (co-host)
- Mexico (co-host)
- United States (co-host)
South America:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Paraguay
- Uruguay
Oceania:
- New Zealand
How many teams will qualify in total?
Love it or loathe it, the World Cup is being expanded in 2026 from 32 to 48 teams.
16 European countries will go to the finals – the 12 that top their qualifying groups and four more through the UEFA play-offs in March.
Nine African teams will directly qualify, as well as eight from Asia, six from South America, six from North and Central America (including the hosts) and one from Oceania.
Additionally, two teams will qualify through the inter-continental play-offs, which will be held in Mexico in March. Bolivia and New Caledonia will be there, joined by two teams from North and Central America, one from Asia and one from Africa.
When does the World Cup start?
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place on December 5 in Washington DC, though not every team will be known until after the play-offs next March.
The 2026 World Cup kicks off on June 11, with Mexico set to play the opening game at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The final will take place on July 19 at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
How will the World Cup format work?
With the World Cup expanding to 48 teams, the format has been tweaked for 2026 and is now somewhat similar to the European championships.
The 48 teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four, with the top two from each group advancing to the knockout stage.
They will be joined by the eight best performing third-placed teams, with all other countries eliminated. The third-placed teams will be ranked first by points and then goal difference and goals scored.
From there, it’s a simple knockout format, as the 32 teams are whittled down to the final two. As ever, there will be a third-place play-off between the beaten semi-finalists.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.