Cape Verde secure World Cup qualification for first time (0:54)Cape Verde make history after beating Eswatini 3-0 to qualify for the 2026 World Cup for the first time. (0:54)
JUMP TO: Europe | N. and C. America | Africa | Asia | S. America | Oceania | Playoffs
NORTH AMERICA, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN (Concacaf)
Qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup began on Oct. 12, 2023, when countries from the Asian confederation played their first round of matches and Myanmar’s Lwin Moe Aung scored the very first goal in a 5-1 win over Macau.
Now, all confederations’ competitions are drawing to a close, but we’re still a long way from discovering the full list of 45 nations that will join World Cup hosts United States, Mexico and Canada to make up the field of 48.
– Africa (9/9): Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
– Europe and Concacaf: The final rounds of the group stage will be completed, and 14 more teams will qualify for the World Cup. The UEFA playoff field and the two Concacaf nations that will enter the six-team interconfederation playoff in March 2026 (there are two teams from Concacaf and one team apiece from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC) will also be known.
– Africa: The CAF’s interconfederation playoff spot will be decided by a winner-take-all mini tournament, with four teams in the running to be crowned on Nov. 16. In the semifinals, it’s Nigeria vs. Gabon and Cameroon vs. DR Congo.
– Asia: UAE and Iraq will play a two-legged tie on Nov. 13 and Nov. 18 to determine who receives the interconfederation playoff spot.
Number of World Cup spots: 12 automatic + 4 via confederation playoff Who has qualified? England, France, Croatia
There are 55 European nations, although 54 will compete as Russia remain suspended due to the invasion of Ukraine.
The 12 group winners will qualify directly for the World Cup, with the 12 runners-up entering the playoff system.
Qualifying began in March 2025 when most of the European teams who were not in UEFA Nations League (UNL) action played their first matches.
We will soon learn the identities of all the automatic qualifiers, along with the teams that will be competing in the playoffs for the last four spots available to European nations.
GROUP E: Spain (15, plus-19) are still top with a 100% record after beating Georgia (3, minus-7), with Turkey (12, plus-5) the nearest challengers. Spain have a goal difference advantage of 14 over Turkey, so they qualify as long as they don’t lose by 7 when the sides meet on Tuesday.
GROUP C: Denmark (11, plus-11) and Scotland (10, plus-4) are the only two teams left that can still qualify for the World Cup, and they’ll face each other in Glasgow on Tuesday. Scotland’s loss to Greece on Saturday ensures that Steve Clarke’s men must win against the Danes if they’re to avoid the playoff.
GROUP H: Austria (18, plus-18) won at Cyprus (8, 0), but they’ve not yet secured qualification because Bosnia and Herzegovina (16, plus-10) also won on Saturday, defeating Romania (10, plus-3). Austria and Bosnia will meet on Tuesday to determine who gets the automatic berth.
Romania’s loss eliminates them from contention for a playoff place as runners-up, although they still can move into the playoff as UEFA Nations League group winner. Northern Ireland’s loss to Slovakia in Group A on Friday means that San Marino no longer have a chance to qualify through the Nations League path.
Slovenia’s (3, minus-5) hopes of making the playoff were extinguished with Saturday’s loss to Kosovo. Sweden are all but out of contention, but are set to get a playoff route through the Nations League.
GROUP J: Belgium (15 points, plus-15 goal differential) still sit at the top of the table and will finish up against already-eliminated Liechtenstein (0, minus-24) on Tuesday, but they failed to seal qualification on Saturday after drawing with Kazakhstan (8, minus-4). The Red Devils need a draw against Liechtenstein in their finale to automatically qualify. North Macedonia (13, plus-9) will look to hold off Wales (13, plus-4) for second.
GROUP A: Germany (12, plus-7) and Slovakia (12, plus-4) both took care of business by defeating Luxembourg (0, minus-11) and Northern Ireland (6, 0), respectively. That sets the stage for a Monday match between the top two sides with a World Cup spot on the line. Germany’s goal-differential advantage means a win or a draw will seal first place in the group, while Slovakia must win to avoid the playoffs.
Despite finishing third in the group, Northern Ireland can still make the World Cup through the playoffs, as one of the four best-ranked Nations League group winners that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group.
GROUP G: Netherlands (17, plus-19) and second-place Poland (14, plus-6) managed a 1-1 draw, meaning the Netherlands have all but locked up qualification thanks to their superior goal differential. As a result, Poland will surely be in the playoffs regardless of their final-day result, after Finland (10, minus-6) lost 1-0 to Malta (5, minus-14) on Friday.
GROUP D: France (13, plus-10 goal differential) qualified with a 2-0 win over Ukraine (7, minus-3). That means Iceland (7, plus-2), after beating Azerbaijan (1, minus-11), have moved into the playoff place on goal difference.
This sets up a massive showdown between Ukraine and Iceland in Warsaw on Sunday; Ukraine must win to keep their World Cup hopes alive.
GROUP F: Portugal (10, plus-5) fumbled their chance to qualify Thursday by losing 2-0 in Republic of Ireland (7, plus-1), a match that included a straight red card on Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal are still in good position to win the group Sunday, as they’ll be taking on last-place Armenia (3, minus-8), but automatic qualification is a bit less certain than it was at the beginning of the day.
All eyes will be on second-place Hungary (8, plus-2) vs. Ireland on the final day, as the winner will seal a UEFA playoff spot (and perhaps even automatic qualification if Portugal somehow drop points to Armenia). Ireland must win if they want to avoid elimination, while Hungary need a draw or better.
GROUP I: Norway (21, plus-29) effectively clinched automatic qualification with a 4-1 win over Estonia (4, -13). Italy (18, plus-10) still technically have a chance to top the group, but even after defeating Moldova (1, minus-24), Norway’s vastly superior goal difference means Italy would need an impossibly massive win against Norway on the final day to avoid the playoffs.
GROUP K: England (21, plus-20) have dominated the group, qualifying with a 100% record and not conceding a goal. That continued Thursday with a 2-0 win over Serbia (10, minus-2). And with Albania (14, plus-4) defeating Andorra (1, minus-13), Albania sealed second place in the group and a spot in the UEFA playoffs.
PLAYOFFS: The final four places at the World Cup will be determined via the UEFA playoffs, to be played in March 2026. There is no path to the World Cup through FIFA’s interconfederation playoffs.
The UEFA playoffs involve 16 teams: the 12 group stage runners-up, plus the four best-ranked group winners from the UNL who did not finish in the top two in World Cup qualifying. This creates four routes, each with four teams featuring a one-legged semifinal and a final for a place at the World Cup.
The priority order for the four World Cup playoff places through the UNL is: Spain, Germany, Portugal, France, England, Norway, Wales, Czechia, Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Moldova, San Marino.
Of the 14 teams to win their UNL groups, 10 of those were in Pot 1 or 2 for the World Cup qualifying draw — so on ranking would finish in the top two of their group. If that comes to pass, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Moldova and San Marino would get a playoff place. However, that now appears unlikely with Romania and Sweden struggling to finish in the top two.
Usually, Concacaf would have six automatic places in qualifying — but for the 2026 World Cup, three of the six are taken up by the hosts (United States, Mexico, Canada). That leaves three places to be won, plus two spots in the interconfederation playoff path.
ROUND 1: The four lowest-ranked Concacaf nations battled it out in two-legged ties. Anguilla and British Virgin Islands eliminated Turks and Caicos Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively, on penalties.
Advanced: Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curaçao, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
The group winners will qualify for the World Cup, with the two runners-up with the best record going on to take part in the interconfederation playoffs.
By the end of the month, we will know which three group winners have qualified for the World Cup, and which two runners-up will move on to the playoffs.
GROUP B: Curaçao (11) went top of the group Thursday after a comprehensive 7-0 victory over Bermuda (0) and a 1-1 draw between Jamaica (10) and Trinidad & Tobago (6). It’s all to play for on Tuesday in Kingston, as Jamaica and Curaçao face off to decide who will earn qualification and who will enter the playoffs, or even be eliminated if the second-place team is the worst of the three group runners-up.
GROUP C: A surprise loss Thursday by Honduras (8, +3) to Nicaragua (4, -6) has thrown this group into chaos. A 1-0 victory by Haiti (8, +1) over Costa Rica (6, +2) means all of the teams save for Nicaragua could yet win the group and qualify for the World Cup on the final day. Tuesday’s matchups will be Costa Rica vs. Honduras and Haiti vs. Nicaragua.
Number of World Cup spots: 9 automatic + 1 enters interconfederation playoff Who has qualified? Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
There were 54 FIFA-affiliated nations in the draw. However, Eritrea subsequently withdrew over fears its players would try to seek political asylum during trips abroad.
Round 1: The teams were in eight groups of six nations, and one group of five (with Eritrea removed).