World Cup 2026 qualifying is in full swing and several teams – including England and holders Argentina – have already booked their place at the expanded tournament.
The 2026 World Cup takes place across three host nations – USA, Canada and Mexico – from June 11 to July 19.
It will be the biggest yet, with 48 nations taking part – 16 more than in Qatar 2022.
The three host nations qualify automatically, while nations from the confederations of UEFA (Europe), CONMEBOL (South America), CONCACAF (North/Central America and Caribbean), AFC (Asia), OFC (Oceania) and CAF (Africa) stage their own qualifying campaigns.
UEFA is guaranteed 16 slots at the tournament. Twelve group winners will progress directly from the qualifying stage and sixteen teams – 12 group runners-up and four further teams based on their Nations League ranking – will enter four play-off paths, with each providing a further spot at the finals.
Outside of Europe, CAF gets nine spots at the World Cup and AFC has eight. There will be a minimum of six each from CONMEBOL and CONCACAF, while OFC has one guaranteed slot for the first time.
Two final slots will be filled through an inter-confederation play-off. A tournament involving six teams will take place in March 2026: one team per confederation apart from UEFA, plus one additional team from the confederation of the host countries.
Keep track below of who has reached the showpiece tournament.
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Sky Sports’ chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol gives an update on Donald Trump’s recent threat to remove 2026 World Cup games from Boston
Who has qualified for the 2026 World Cup?
UEFA
As we know already, England booked their ticket after winning all six of their qualifiers, to top Group K.
Each of the 12 group winners will secure their place, with the four remaining berths to be decided in the play-offs, involving the 12 pool runners-up and four best-ranked UEFA Nations League section winners.
Scotland are guaranteed a top-two finish in Group C, while Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have all retained hopes of securing a play-off place at least.
France secured their place in the finals after beating Ukraine 4-0 in their penultimate qualifying game, making them the second team from Europe to make it through.
Germany, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Croatia are all currently on course for automatic qualification as they top their respective groups, while Italy trail Group I leaders Norway by three points.
The two teams will meet in the final qualification game, but the Azzurri will need to win and oversee a 17 goal swing in order to snatch top spot off Stale Solbakken’s side.
CONMEBOL
World champions Argentina were the first South American team to qualify by guaranteeing a top-six finish back in March and they finished top of the 10-team CONMEBOL group, nine points ahead of second-placed Ecuador.
The top six – which also includes Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay – sealed automatic qualification, while Bolivia snatched the play-off place by finishing seventh after beating Brazil 1-0 in their final qualifier.
Venezuela, Chile and Peru miss out, while Bolivia enter a six-team play-off, which includes two from CONCACAF and one apiece from the AFC, CAF, CONMEBOL and OFC.
CAF
Algeria, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia all secured automatic qualification after finishing top of their respective groups.
The four best runners-up – Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon and Nigeria – will play-off next month in two semi-finals and then a final for the last qualification place.
Cape Verde, which has a population of 525,000, became the second smallest nation behind Iceland to qualify for the World Cup finals by finishing top of Group D ahead of Cameroon.
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Cape Verde fans and players celebrated securing qualification for their first-ever World Cup, following their 3-0 win over Eswatini
AFC
Japan became the first team to seal automatic qualification with victory over Bahrain in March and they were later joined by Australia, Iran, Jordan, Korea Republic and Uzbekistan.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have since secured their places by coming through a fourth round of Asian qualifying.
Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will fight it out next month for the final qualification place in the fifth round.
CONCACAF
With hosts Canada, Mexico, and the United States all assured of their place, the CONCACAF region could have up to eight teams at the World Cup for the first time.
Currently at the third and final round stage, Suriname, Jamaica and Honduras top their respective groups, but there is plenty to play for in the three groups of four teams, with two games remaining.
Each of the pool winners will qualify automatically and the best two runners-up will compete in next month’s six-team play-off.
OFC
New Zealand clinched World Cup qualification for the first time since 2010 by beating New Caledonia 3-0 in the qualifying final in March.
New Caledonia could yet join the All Whites at next summer’s tournament as they will represent Oceania at the play-offs.
When is the 2026 World Cup draw?
US President Donald Trump and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino with the World Cup trophy at the Oval Office of the White House
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on December 5.
President Trump will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the John F Kennedy Center – a performing arts venue where Trump is chairman – to decide the group stage fixtures.
Announcing the draw venue at the White House in August, Trump said the World Cup was “the biggest event in sports”, while Infantino declared the 104 matches would be like “104 Super Bowls”.
The draw will take place from 12pm local time (5pm UK time).
World Cup 2026 match schedule
The full fixture list with group games and kick-off times will be available after the draw but FIFA has already announced key dates and confirmed that the opening match will be held in Mexico City.
The final will take place at the New York New Jersey (MetLife) Stadium – home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.
Group stage: June 11-27
Round of 32: June 28 to July 3
Round of 16: July 4-7
Quarter-finals: July 9-11
Semi-finals: July 14-15
Third-place play-off (‘Bronze final’): July 18
Final: July 19
