World Cup 2026 qualified teams
World Cup 2026 features 48 nations from across six confederations. The three host nations — USA, Canada, and Mexico — qualified automatically. Here is the full list, organised by region.
UEFA (Europe) — 16 teams
UEFA received 16 of the 48 spots — the largest allocation of any confederation.
CAF (Africa) — 9 teams
Africa nearly doubled its allocation from 5 spots in 2022 to 9 in 2026.
AFC (Asia) — 8 teams
Asia gained the biggest proportional increase: from 4.5 spots in 2022 to 8 in 2026.
CONMEBOL (South America) — 6 teams
South America went from 4.5 spots in 2022 to 6 in 2026. Venezuela and Chile did not qualify.
CONCACAF (North/Central America & Caribbean) — 6 teams
Three of the six CONCACAF spots are the host nations, who qualified automatically. 🏠 = host nation.
OFC (Oceania) — 1 team
Oceania retained one automatic spot. Australia competes in the AFC following their 2006 confederation switch.
Inter-confederation play-offs — 2 teams
Two final spots were decided via inter-confederation play-off matches between runners-up from different confederations. The final qualified teams from this route will be confirmed once play-offs are complete.
Notable absentees
With 48 spots available, fewer major football nations missed out compared to previous tournaments. Notable absentees include:
- Chile — failed to qualify from CONMEBOL despite a strong football tradition
- Greece — did not qualify from UEFA despite a strong qualifying campaign start
- Ivory Coast — did not qualify from CAF
- China — narrowly failed to qualify from AFC despite the expanded allocation
Run a sweepstake with all 48 teams
Random draw, live leaderboard, free for your whole group.
Get started free →