 "Explained: How many teams have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup? And how does the qualification system work?")
The FIFA World Cup is set to be bigger than ever next year with the 23rd edition of the mega-event involving 48 teams – up from 32, which had been the norm from 1998 to the most recent edition in 2022. For the first time in the tournament’s near 100-year history, the FIFA World Cup will be hosted across three countries with matches taking place in USA, Mexico and Canada next year.
Mexico will become the first nation to host FIFA World Cup matches across three editions – having previously hosted the tournament in 1970 and 1986 – while the tournament returns to the United States for the first time since 1994.
Qualification for the tournament is also in full swing at the moment with a handful of nations having already qualified for the World Cup with more than a year to go.
How many teams have already qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
A total of seven teams have already qualified for next year’s World Cup. Three of them – USA, Mexico and Canada – have already qualified by virtue of being host nations. It will be the second instance in FIFA World Cup history of two or more teams automatically qualifying for the Finals as hosts, the previous such instance having taken place during the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan.
Four teams have already secured their place in the tournament through the Qualifiers – defending champions Argentina (CONMEBOL), Japan and Iran (AFC) and New Zealand (OFC).
New Zealand return to the World Cup after a 16-year gap after defeating New Caledonia 3-0 in the OFC final while Japan and Iran are assured of a top-two finish in their respective groups in the third round of the AFC World Cup Qualifiers.
Defending champions Argentina became the latest team to qualify after Bolivia held Uruguay to a goalless draw, with ‘La Albiceleste’ later celebrating their qualification with a 4-1 thrashing of arch-rivals and five-time world champions Brazil .
What is the qualification system like for the 48-team FIFA World Cup next year?
The tournament expanding to 48 teams from 32 from next year means more slots for all the confederations. Here’s a look at the available slots for each of the six confederations:
UEFA (Europe): A total of 16 slots have been reserved for European teams at the 48-team World Cup. The UEFA World Cup qualifier comprises 54 teams divided into 12 groups of four or five teams. The group winners advance directly for the World Cup finals while the 12 runners-up join four other teams – four best-ranked Nations League group winners that haven’t qualified already – in the playoffs to determine the four remaining slots.
None of the European teams have qualified for the World Cup so far with the UEFA qualifiers having begun in March.
CONMEBOL (South America): The South American qualifiers has 10 teams competing in one big group, in which the top six nations qualify for the World Cup finals while the seventh-placed team goes into the intercontinental playoffs.
Argentina have already qualified for the World Cup with 31 points, eight more than the second-ranked Ecuador, while Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay and Colombia are the remaining teams in the qualification zone.
CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean): Six teams from the North and Central America as well as from the Caribbean will be featuring in the World Cup, which includes the three host nations that have automatically qualified. Barring the tournament hosts, none of the teams have qualified for the World Cup so far and those slots aren’t likely to be filled until autumn.
The CONCACAF Qualifiers has 30 teams divided into six groups, each comprising five teams. The top two teams from each group advances to the next round, where the 12 teams are divided into three groups of four teams each. The group winners advance directly while the two best-ranked runners-up advance to the intercontinental playoffs.
CAF (Africa): A total of nine slots have been reserved for African teams, with a 10th potentially qualifying through the intercontinental playoffs. The CAF Qualifiers feature nine groups of six teams each, in which the group winners advance directly to the finals. The best four runners-up then advance to the playoffs to determine which team will advance to the intercontinental playoffs.
Like Europe, none of the African teams have confirmed their place in the World Cup so far. However,
AFC (Asia): Eight Asian teams are assured of a place in the World Cup with one team advancing to the intercontinental playoffs. The first round of qualifiers that took place in October 2023 had 20 lower-ranked teams divided into two pots. A team from Pot 1 was drawn against a team from Pot 2, and the two teams faced each other on a home-and-away basis for a place in the second round.
The second round that took place between November 2023 and June 2024 had 36 teams divided into nine groups of four. Of the teams featuring in this round, 10 qualified from Round 1 and 26 received a bye into the second round. Each side faced the remaining teams in its group on a home-and-away round-robin basis.
IR Iran 🇮🇷 have joined Japan 🇯🇵 in booking their tickets 🎟️ 🌎 Which teams will advance next?#AsianQualifiers | #JourneyTo26 | @qatarairways pic.twitter.com/3kmsLEIscM
— #WAC2026 (@afcasiancup) March 26, 2025
The winner and runner-up in each group advanced to the third round and also qualified for the AFC Asian Cup. India had finished third in Group A , behind 2022 hosts Qatar and Kuwait and above Afghanistan. The 18 teams featuring in the third round have been divided into three groups of six teams each, in which each side plays the remaining teams in its group on a home-and-away round-robin basis.
The top-two sides in each group advance directly for the World Cup while the third and fourth-placed teams advance to the fourth round – where six teams are divided into two groups of three in which the winners advance to the World Cup and the runners-up play a two-legged clash for a place in the intercontinental playoffs.
OFC (Oceania): Oceania has just one direct slot for the World Cup finals, which has been captured by New Zealand. The All Whites will be making only their third World Cup appearance next year, having been guaranteed an automatic spot in the expanded 48-team World Cup. They also defeated New Caledonia 3-0 in the final of the Oceania qualifiers.
The first round featured four of the lowest-ranked teams competing in a series of knock-out fixtures, with the winner advance to the second round, where they joined the seven highest-ranked teams. The eight teams in the second round were divided into two groups of four, in which the top two sides advanced to the third and final round.
Round 3 had a format similar to that of Round 1, in which four teams competed in three knockout fixtures – two semi-finals and a final. New Zealand hammered Fiji 7-0 before their victory over New Caledonia, which advanced to the intercontinental playoffs.
Intercontinental playoffs: The intercontinental playoffs will take place in March next year, three months before the Finals are to get underway. A total of six teams will be in action in this round, one each from CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC and OFC and two from CONCACAF.
Two of these teams will be seeded and will compete directly in the two finals while the four unseeded teams will have to go through the semi-finals. The winners of the two finals will then join the remaining 46 teams in the World Cup Finals.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
