Last September, as the first international break of the 2025-26 season drew to a close, 18 of the 48 teams that had qualified for the 2026 World Cup were already known. One month later, with two more weeks of qualifying matches now complete, four more nations have secured their tickets for the United States.
With eight months to go before the competition kicks off on Thursday 11th June, 20 places are still up for grabs. Here, Sports Talk United recaps the list of teams that have already qualified for the 23rd edition of the world’s biggest football tournament.
UEFA qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup
- England
To date, England are the only UEFA member nation to have secured their place at the 2026 World Cup. Others, such as Switzerland, Norway and Portugal, are expected to follow suit soon.
While this should also be the case for Spain, France and Netherlands, Germany and Denmark still have everything to play for. As a reminder, the countries that finish top of their group automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the runners-up are forced to go through continental play-offs.
CAF qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup
- Tunisia
- Morocco
- Algeria
- Egypt
- Ghana
- Cape Verde
- South Africa
- Senegal
Having qualified last September, Tunisia and Morocco have this time been spectators in the fierce battle between the other African nations in the race to qualify for the World Cup. A competition from which Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, South Africa, Senegal and Cape Verde, which have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in their history, have emerged victorious.
Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all four of which finished among the best runners-up in the qualifying phase, will compete in a mini continental tournament to determine which one of them will represent Africa in the intercontinental play-offs.
Concacaf qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup
- United States (host country)
- Canada (host country)
- Mexico (host country)
Due to the automatic qualification of the United States, Canada and Mexico as host countries, three tickets remain to be distributed. And after four days of qualifying,
CONMEBOL qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Uruguay
- Ecuador
- Colombia
- Paraguay
CONMEBOL is one of the four confederations that already know which nations are guaranteed to represent them at the 2026 World Cup. Argentina, the defending champions, will be looking to win back-to-back titles, while Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia and Paraguay will also be in the mix. Bolivia, which will compete in the intercontinental play-offs, could also join the South American delegation.
AFC qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup
- Japan
- Iran
- Uzbekistan
- Australia
- South Korea
- Jordan
- Saudi Arabia
- Qatar
After six qualifying spots for the 2026 World Cup had been allocated to Asia, two remained up for grabs. And, in the fourth round of the qualifiers, Saudi Arabia and Qatar managed to clinch them. Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will face each other in November to determine who will compete in the intercontinental play-offs.
OFC qualified teams for the 2026 World Cup
- New Zealand
Apart from CONMEBOL, the OFC, the Oceania Football Confederation, is the only one to know the identity of the team that will represent it at the 2026 World Cup. And it is New Zealand, which logically dominated the qualifiers, that this privilege will go to. New Caledonia, meanwhile, will compete in the intercontinental play-offs.
When will the intercontinental play-offs for the 2026 World Cup take place?
Featuring two teams from CONCACAF, one from AFC, one from CAF, one from CONMEBOL (Bolivia) and one from OFC (New Caledonia), the intercontinental play-offs for the 2026 World Cup will be played in March 2026. At the end of this mini-tournament, the identities of the last two teams to qualify for the competition will be revealed.
