The World Cup remains in the books forever. A new edition will be added in the summer of 2026. What it will look like is still one big question mark. But there is no doubt that all FIFA countries can still dream of participating. Qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin in 2023, 2024 or 2025 in the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA zones. A total of 210-211 FIFA members are participating. Of these, 48 countries will submit their applications in 2026 in North America, in one of the host countries — the USA, Canada and Mexico. Here we list what is already known about the FIFA qualification zones.
To begin with, during the FIFA Council on February 14, 2023, it was officially announced that the three host countries did not have to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The United States, Canada and Mexico are the first three of the 48 countries that are guaranteed to compete in the final stage. All other countries must qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The format of each qualification differs depending on the FIFA zone. Here we will explain to you the different formats for each continent. But first, let’s get acquainted with the minimum and maximum number of countries from each continent that can qualify for the final round in 2026.:
| FIFA Zone | Possible Spots for the FIFA World Cup |
|---|---|
| AFC | Minimum 8, maximum 9 teams (possible +1 via intercontinental play-off) |
| CONCACAF | Minimum 6, maximum 8 teams (possible +2 via intercontinental play-off) |
| Host countries USA, Canada, and Mexico have already qualified automatically | |
| CONMEBOL | Minimum 6, maximum 7 teams (possible +1 via intercontinental play-off) |
| OFC | Minimum 1, maximum 2 teams (possible +1 via intercontinental play-off) |
| CAF | Minimum 9, maximum 10 teams (possible +1 via intercontinental play-off) |
| UEFA | 16 teams |
In the UEFA zone (Europe), 55 (or 54, possibly excluding Russia) will participate in the World Cup qualifiers countries. Sixteen of them will qualify for the final round of the North American tournament. The groups and the schedule of the UEFA World Cup qualification series with all matches, dates and times will be announced later. Estimated start of selection: March-September 2025.
Participants of the qualification from UEFA: Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, England, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Faroe Islands, Hungary, Israel, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Finland, France, Croatia, Estonia, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia (possible suspension), San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.
CAF qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup may begin as early as 2023. There are 54 countries participating in the African qualification zone, which will compete for 9 direct tickets (another one can be obtained through the intercontinental playoffs).
Qualifying participants from Africa: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Gambia, Togo, Tunisia and Uganda.
The AFC World Cup qualifiers will start in October 2023 and last until October 2025. 46 countries are participating in the Asian qualification zone. They will compete for 8 direct tickets, and another one may be awarded through the intercontinental playoffs.
There are four AFC qualifying stages in Asia, which are divided into two qualifying rounds, the main qualifying round proper and the AFC playoffs.
AFC 1st Qualifying Round (preliminary) The first qualifying round on the continent will begin on October 12 and last until October 17, 2023. This so-called preliminary combined qualification round 1 involves 22 AFC countries, which occupy the lowest positions in the FIFA rankings. They will be divided into 11 pairs, where the winners advance to the second (preliminary) round.
AFC 2nd Qualifying Round (preliminary) The second qualifying round in Asia will begin on November 16, 2023 and last until June 11, 2024. In this preliminary combined qualification round, the 11 winners of the first qualifying round are complemented by the top 25 teams from the FIFA AFC rankings. A total of 36 teams. They are divided into nine groups of 4 teams. In each group, each country plays six matches: home and away against each of the three opponents. From each group, the top two countries will qualify for the main part of the AFC Asian qualifying matches.
AFC 3rd Qualifying Round (Main round) The third qualifying round will begin on September 5, 2024 and end on June 24, 2025. At this stage, the remaining 18 countries will continue on their way to the 2026 World Cup. They will be divided into 3 groups of 6 teams. Each team plays ten matches: home and away against each of the five opponents. The six countries that finished first and second in their respective groups qualify directly for the World Cup. The six countries that finished third or fourth in their group continue to play in the playoffs.
AFC 4th Qualifying Round (playoffs) The fourth qualifying round of the Asian World Cup will be held in September and October 2025. This will be followed by the intercontinental playoffs in November 2025. The six countries ranked 3rd or 4th in the previous round are divided into two groups. In both teams, the teams play against each other once on a neutral site. The group winners are going to the World Cup. The second-place teams will play each other, and the winner will advance to the intercontinental playoffs.
The OFC World Cup qualifiers will begin in 2024. 11 countries will participate in the Oceania qualifying zone. For the first time in history, one of the teams in this region is guaranteed to go directly to the World Cup. Another ticket can be obtained through the intercontinental games.
Qualifying participants from Africa: American Samoa, Cook Island, Fiji, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga and Vanuatu.
CONMEBOL’s qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup will start in mid-2023 and last until 2025 (subject to changes). 10 countries will participate in the South American qualification. They play in one group with a double round-robin distribution, each country plays once at home and once away against each of the other nine countries. As a result, the total number of matches is 90. The first 6 national teams directly qualify for the World Cup. The team that took the 7th place will go for another possible ticket to the intercontinental games.
Qualifying participants from South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
35 countries (minus three hosts) will participate in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean zone. The USA, Canada and Mexico will not need to qualify: they participate automatically. In total, teams from this zone receive 6 direct vouchers, two more can be obtained in intercontinental tours.
First round of CONCACAF qualifying matches
March 18-26, 2024: Four CONCACAF countries will participate in the first round. These are the four countries with the lowest ranking in FIFA. The measuring point of this world ranking will be November 2023. This applies to seats 29, 30, 31 and 32.
Each of the four teams in the 1st round at this stage of qualification plays two games: home and away with the same opponent. Numbers 29 versus 32 and numbers 30 and 31. Both winners advance to the 2nd round.
Second round of CONCACAF qualifying matches
June 3, 2024 – June 2025: in the second round, the teams will be: numbered 1 to 28 among CONCACAF countries in the aforementioned FIFA ranking from November 2023. The two winners of the first round enter the field of 30 teams in this qualifying stage.
The draw divides these thirty countries into six groups of five. In each group, each team plays a total of four matches: one against each of the four opponents in the group. Each country plays twice at home and twice away. Their goal is to finish first or second in the group. The twelve successful countries advance to the next qualifying round.
Third round of CONCACAF qualifying matches
September, October, November 2025: There are twelve teams remaining in the third round, with the first and second places in all six previous groups. The new draw divides them into three groups of four teams each. There are a total of six matches scheduled for each country in each group. According to the double round format, each country plays each of the three opponents both at home and away.
The three group winners have reason to be happy: they directly qualify for the World Cup in North America. The two best second rooms also have an interesting perspective.: They will advance to the playoffs between the confederations.
Europe
Africa
Asia
Oceania
South America
Central America
Format
Group stage
Playoffs
Final
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