Football Discussion | The story of World Cup Qualifying so far
Excitement is building across the globe for the 2026 World Cup
Let's have a look at who could qualify for the tournament.
Author | Greg S
The tournament will take place in United States, Mexico and Canada. There are a lot of interesting talking points as the race to quality hots up.
What’s happening in Europe?
There are 12 groups, with the winners of each group qualifying for the World Cup and the 12 runners-up going into play-offs alongside the four best-ranked UEFA Nations League group winners that have not already qualified, competing for four extra places. Europe is also the only continent that does not have a team in the intercontinental play-offs.
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| England v Latvia | April 2025 |
Qualifying started in March, with some teams not even playing their first qualifiers until this month because of the Nations League. Group matches end in November, and the play-offs will be held in March 2026.
Some of the the latest World Cup Qualifying news and stories from European Super Football
Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Austria, Norway, North Macedonia, England and Croatia are the current group-stage leaders.
Big hitters already through from South America
South American qualifying comprises a single group involving all 10 teams, each playing 18 games, which started in September 2023.
The top six teams all reach the World Cup, with the seventh-placed side going into the intercontinental play-offs.
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| Argentina v Venezuela | September 2025 |
With qualifying now complete, Bolivia beat Brazil 1-0 in the final round of games to secure their place in the intercontinental play-offs.
The situation in Asia
Asian qualifying started in October 2023, with the lower-ranked teams in action. In the third round, the top two teams in three different groups qualified automatically.
Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan and Australia have secured their spots.
UAE, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia are in a fourth round of qualifying, and two of those will also qualify automatically this month. One other side will progress via the intercontinental play-offs following an Asia play-off in November.
African sides looking to make history
There are nine African groups in World Cup qualifying, each with six teams, which started in November 2023.
The top team in each group goes through automatically, with Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Ghana guaranteeing their places.
The other current leaders are Senegal, Benin, Cape Verde and the Ivory Coast. The final rounds of group fixtures are taking place during October's international break.
The best four runners-up will go into play-offs in November for the chance to earn a spot in the intercontinental play-offs.
New Zealand already through from Oceania
Oceania qualifying has already ended, with New Zealand beating New Caledonia 3-0 in the final.
New Zealand have qualified for the World Cup automatically as a result of the expanded format. Oceania usually only gets a play-off spot.
New Caledonia, a French overseas territory, will take part in the intercontinental play-offs in March 2026, featuring teams from Africa, Asia, South America and North America, with two out of six teams going through.
No US and Mexico gives other teams a chance in Concacaf.
Concacaf qualifying takes a different look, with three of their biggest hitters not involved as they have already qualified as hosts, but there are still plenty of spots up for grabs.
Twelve teams are involved in a third round of qualifying, which started this month.
The winners of each group go to the World Cup, with the two best-ranked runners-up going into the intercontinental play-offs. Suriname, Curaçao and Haiti currently lead the three groups.
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