FIFA World Cup 2026: Who has qualified so far?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is less than eight months away and here is everything you need to know about the expanded tournament.

When and where is the World Cup being held?

The tournament’s 23rd edition will be the biggest and most ambitious yet, with 48 nations from six confederations playing in 16 cities across three different countries.

The tournament, which is to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, will take place from 11 June to 19 July 2026. It will be the first World Cup to be hosted by three different nations.

While the United States (1994) and Mexico (1970, 1986) have hosted previous World Cups, this will be Canada’s first time.

Matches will be staged in three cities in Mexico — Guadalajara, Monterrey, and the capital, Mexico City, where the opening match will be played at Estadio Azteca on 11 June.

Canada will have two host cities, Toronto and Vancouver, while the United States will stage matches in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

Every match from the quarter-finals onwards will be played in the US, culminating in the final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday 19 July.

How many countries are participating?

The 2026 finals will feature 48 countries, playing in 104 matches, an increase on the 64 games that were played by the 32 teams at the most recent edition in Qatar in 2022.

The 48 participants will be divided into 12 groups of four, with the winners and runners-up of each group being joined in a knockout round of 32 by the eight best third-placed teams.

The competition will then continue through its usual format of a round of 16, followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

There will be 16 teams from the European confederation (UEFA) at the tournament, while Africa (CAF) will have nine guaranteed participants, and Asia (AFC) eight.

South America (CONMEBOL) and North & Central America (CONCACAF) will provide at least six teams each, while Oceania (OFC) will have at least one participant.

The final two places will be added following an inter-confederation playoff of six non-UEFA nations that will take place in March of next year.

Who has qualified so far?

In addition to the US, Canada and Mexico, all of whom qualify automatically as host nations, 25 other countries have guaranteed their place at the tournament, including World Cup debutants Cape Verde, Jordan and Uzbekistan.

AFC: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan
Eight teams qualify automatically, one enters playoffs between confederations

CAF: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia
Nine teams qualify automatically, one enters playoffs between confederations

CONMEBOL: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay
Six teams qualify automatically, one (Bolivia) enters playoffs between confederations

OFC: New Zealand
One team qualify automatically, one enters playoffs between confederations

UEFA: England
Twelve teams qualify automatically, four qualify via UEFA's playoffs

Meanwhile, it is still to be determined which CONCACAF teams will join the host nations Canada, Mexico and USA. Three will qualify automatically, two enter the playoffs between confederations.

Which Premier League players will take part?

With 28 countries already guaranteed to be taking part, a huge number of Premier League stars are now playing for a ticket to North America.

For example, Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and Tottenham Hotspur’s Mohammed Kudus will be hoping to terrify opposition full-backs for Ghana.

Manchester City’s Abdukodir Khusanov is expected to be the highest-profile player for tournament debutants Uzbekistan.

Brazil have 31 players who are registered with Premier League clubs, including a league-high seven at Nottingham Forest.

When does the main draw take place?

The main draw will take on 5 December in Washington D.C.

This is when the 48 participating countries will be placed in 12 groups from A to L, and teams and fans alike will get a clearer picture of their route to the final.

The tournament’s full schedule is as follows:

Group stages: 11-27 June
Round of 32: 28 June-3 July
Round of 16: 4-7 July
Quarter-finals: 9-11 July
Semi-finals: 14-15 July
Third-place playoff: 18 July
Final: 19 July