The 2026 FIFA World Cup is almost set with the qualifiers, except for the playoffs coming up in March, and 42 of the 48 teams that will compete in the global showpiece have now secured their places.

The three host nations, the United States, Canada, and Mexico, qualified automatically, while 39 others earned their spots through a variety of regional qualifying campaigns.

In Asia (AFC), eight teams have currently booked their tickets. All nine direct entrants from Africa are also set, and it is the same for Europe, South America, North America, and Oceania.

In this article, Betrekatips highlights the evolving landscape around the globe, where traditional heavyweights are joined by emerging nations in the race for finals spots.

All 42 2026 FIFA World Cup entrants

AFC

Japan became the first country to qualify for the tournament through the qualifiers back in March. They've been joined by Iran, South Korea, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Uzbekistan, and Australia.

Notably, both Jordan and Uzbekistan will be marking their first-ever World Cup tournament appearance next summer, after upsetting the odds and benefitting from the new extended format.

With their qualification, South Korea extended their record consecutive FIFA World Cup appearance for an Asian nation, with this set to become their 11th straight outing, adding to their debut in 1954, making 12 appearances, also an Asia record.

CAF

Tunisia became the first African team to book their ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and were equally joined by their fellow Northerners, who also enjoyed seamless runs in their qualifying group.

Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria followed suit. The likes of Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, South Africa, and Ghana left it late, but they also eventually emerged from their respective groups and secured their place in North America next summer.

Cape Verde will be making their debut in the FIFA World Cup and became the second smallest team to qualify before their population of around 491,000 was relegated to the third smallest later in the qualifiers.

In the absence of Cameroon, which holds the record for most tournament appearances for an African nation with eight, Morocco and Tunisia have just one, while Nigeria missed the chance after their first-ever consecutive absence, and remains on six.

CONCACAF 

Mexico, the United States, and Canada qualified as host nations, boasting the chances of the fringe nations to capitalize on both this and the extended format to reach the finals for the first time ever.

Panama, Haiti and Curacao are the trio who have taken advantage of this initiative and secured their places in the FIFA World Cup against the odds, leaving the projected favourites heading for the playoffs.

Panama will return to the World Cup since their debut appearance in 2018, while Haiti will be making their first appearance in the 21st century, although they had one tournament appearance when they debuted in 1974.

For Curacao, they'll be making their FIFA World Cup debut in 2026 and set a new record as the smallest country to qualify for the global showpiece, with a population of around 155,000, which is less than half the previous record by Iceland in 2018.

CONMEBOL

The league format of the South American World Cup qualifiers leaves no room for hiding for anyone. It is either all in or all out, a fact that is well-known, but never without its victims in every edition.

The footballing powerhouses of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay have confirmed qualification. 

Brazil, despite an underwhelming qualification tournament, which saw them lose six and draw four of 18 games, managed to qualify among the top six and continued their perfect tournament appearance since its inception in 1930. 23 out of 23.

Argentina finished top of the pile and will be marking their 19th tournament appearance; only Brazil and Germany have more. 2026 will also be their 14th consecutive World Cup outing, only bettered by the aforementioned duo. Level with Italy.

Uruguay makes it five consecutive qualifications, beating their previous record of four between 1962 and 1974, and interestingly, Ecuador also qualified for back-to-back editions for only the second time, after first doing so in 2002 and 2006.

OFC

New Zealand won all five games, three in the group phase, and two more in the playoff to secure their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the only automatic ticket available for Oceanian nations.

It's their third time entering the finals, and with the new qualifications format, more of the All Whites will be seen in the World Cup, given their continental dominance, unless another team stands up to mount a worthy challenge.

UEFA

12 European nations have booked their 2026 FIFA World Cup tickets, with England and Norway leading the way after a perfect qualifying campaign, which saw them win all their respective games.

Spain, Croatia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, and France also completed the qualifiers with unbeaten records, while Portugal, Australia, Scotland, and Germany also secured their ticket by finishing top in their respective groups.

Scotland will return yo the global showpiece after their last appearance in 1998, thanks to Kieran Tierney's stunning late strike against Denmark in their final group game, which sends them top in a game that ultimately finished 4-2.

Germany made it 19 consecutive appearances, having not missed out since their return to the tournament in 1954 after being banned from competing for four years prior. It's their 21st tournament appearance, only second to Brazil, 23.

Who can still qualify for the World Cup?

With only six places yet to be filled, the race now shifts to the final qualifying round, which is categorized into two: the UEFA World Cup playoffs, which will add four more nations, and the confederations playoff, with two more teams.

UEFA World Cup qualifiers playoff

A total of sixteen European nations are set to compete in the final UEFA playoffs, which will determine the four remaining slots for the upcoming FIFA World Cup.

The full field of participants is structured around two distinct qualification pathways. The majority of the contenders, twelve teams, secured their places by finishing as runners-up in their respective World Cup qualifying groups.

These twelve nations advancing from the group stage are: Slovakia, Ukraine, the Republic of Ireland, Poland, Italy, Albania, Czechia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Wales, Kosovo, Türkiye, and Denmark.

The remaining four positions in the playoffs were filled via the UEFA Nations League system, allocated to the four highest-ranked group winners from the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League who fell off in their qualifying groups.

Romania, Sweden, North Macedonia, and Northern Ireland fall in this category.

There will be four pathways when the draw is made, with placement of nations depending on their FIFA ranking. Each pathway will comprise four nations, competing in semi-finals and finals, with the four winners (one from each pathway) heading straight to the World Cup.

Confederation World Cup qualifiers playoff

Six nations from the other five confederations will compete for just two tickets. CAF, AFC, CONMEBOL, and OFC have one representative each, while CONCACAF boasts two.

Congo DR, Iraq, Bolivia, New Caledonia, Suriname, and Jamaica will lock horns here, with the two highest-ranked teams already in the final, while the four others will compete in the semi-finals.

When are the playoff draws?

All playoff draws will be conducted on Thursday, the 20th of November in Zurich, Switzerland at 12 pm WAT.

When will the playoffs be staged?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers playoffs will take place in March, and all six nations joining the 42 will be known at the end of the international break.